False Start
by NaturallyDark
Summary: It was supposed to be a story of five pokemon coming together to save the world from temporal peril, but the author got a bit ahead of himself. A permanently unfinished story about friendship, corruption, and whether a fictional character can possess free will.
1. Chapter 1: Ponyta

**Let me tell you a story, children. It began five long years ago, when I was but an edgy teen. A brooding teen with many ideas, some of which -**

**Oh, forget it. You're not here to read my life story, you're hear to read the story of my characters' lives. This story is a rewrite of Embers of the Past, a 40-chapter fic that attempted to blend PMD2 with SoulSilver. Was it a success? I'll leave that up to you.**

**But enough with the introductions! Let's start the fanfiction, already! Welcome to Sparks of the Future!**

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Hoofbeats echoed through an ancient passageway as Team Flame made their way down a hallway deep within Underground Temple. Water dripped down from the cracked stone ceiling, and the air was cool and musty. The only source of light came from the flaming mane and tail of the ponyta who led the group. Behind him followed a bellsprout and bringing up the rear was a camerupt, whose heavy, plodding steps echoed hollowly through the halls. Though the three pokémon were far below ground, the distant sounds of the storm raging far above were still audible. The ponyta pinned his ears back in annoyance. Of _course_ the storm of the century had chosen the day of his team's expedition to hit. This humidity was already wreaking havoc on his perfectly-groomed palomino fur.

"I simply cannot stand it anymore!" he announced, coming to a stop and stamping a hoof. The contents of saddlebags slung over his back jangled about noisily, amplified by the narrow stone walls on either side of them. "We've been walking for _hours_ now with no end in sight! I propose we exit these passageways at once and return home before the storm worsens!"

Bellsprout began to answer, but he was immediately interrupted by Camerupt, who sounded tired beyond his years. "I'm sure we'd already be at the heart of the temple if you'd move just a _bit_ faster than a snail's pace, Ponyta."

"Have you seen the _puddles_, Camerupt?" Ponyta demanded. "They're absolutely everywhere! Filthy, horrendous pools of water, all over the bloody floor! It's a miracle I've been able to sidestep them this whole way!"

Camerupt let out a deep, low sigh. "We ain't quitting now. Buck up, Ponyta, it shouldn't be too much longer."

Ponyta snorted but continued on, high-stepping over the puddles. He found it very difficult to both hold his head up in defiance _and_ keep an eye on the pools of water below him.

The hall stretched ever forward, diverging into alternate paths and great, empty rooms. Set at even intervals along the walls were rusted metal brackets that sagged away from the walls as if slouching with age. It was likely they once held wooden torches, but any trace of them had long burned or rotted away.

Only a few days ago, the Underground Temple had been discovered by an ordinary civilian who had stumbled upon its entrance by accident. Word had spread quickly about the discovery and soon explorers from all around expressed interest in venturing into the temple and searching for the valuable relics and treasures that may be hidden inside. When Bellsprout had brought it up to Camerupt and Ponyta, the latter protested against going on an expedition to the temple. Unfortunately for him, Bellsprout - as leader of the team - had the final say, and with Camerupt on the side of journeying out here, Ponyta had no legs to stand on.

"This temple's architecture is fascinating," Bellsprout commented, gazing up at the passageway's rounded ceiling. "I wonder if the humans built it?"

"Don't be absurd, the humans surely weren't strong enough to lift the stones these halls are built from," Ponyta was quick to respond. "And if they _were_, and they _did_ construct this horrid place, they would have done a better job to ensure it was waterproof!"

"Give it a rest, Ponyta," Camerupt said, "this place is probably hundreds of years old."

Ponyta made an irritated sound, refusing to acknowledge Camerupt had a point. "You know, you could at least refer to me by my preferred name when treating me like a young foal."

"Your 'preferred name' is a goddamn mouthful."

Ponyta stopped and turned to face him, prepared to argue until morning came, but Bellsprout held up his leaf-like appendages before he could say a word.

"H-hey, let's not start fighting now, okay?" he said. After a moment, he added, "I'm sure Camerupt didn't mean to be rude, uh, _Sir _Majestic Tail."

Sufficiently placated, the ponyta swished his fiery tail and turned back around. "Yes, I'm certain he didn't. It would be a sad waste of firepower to fight over a non-issue, wouldn't it, Camerupt?"

Camerupt's response was reluctant. "...Yeah, sure, _Sir Majestic Tail_."

Sir Majestic Tail sniffed, then his ears pricked up. The air smelled less like decay and dampness and more like...well, still decay and dampness, but there was a fresher hint to it, like someone had poked a hole into the wall to let a little outside air in. Could it be that they were finally approaching the temple's centre?

"Hey, are either of you picking up on the change of atmosphere?" Bellsprout asked eagerly. Evidently, he'd also caught a whiff of fresh air.

"What change?" Camerupt said. "Still feels like old temple t' me."

"The air pressure's...getting lighter! I think we're almost there!"

Even the hall was a little brighter now, illuminated by some unseen source up ahead. Remaining wary of the puddles, Sir Majestic Tail picked up his pace slightly and followed the light and fresh scent down the passageways, his teammates following close behind. He turned a bend onto another path and was ecstatic to find the hall appeared to open up into a much larger room than any they'd walked through so far. He trotted towards the room, halted suddenly to shake off his hoof in disgust after accidentally dunking it into a water-filled rut in the floor, and finally entered the room.

The chamber was much bigger than Sir Majestic Tail had expected, and to his pleasant surprise it was also much drier than expected. The only water to be seen flowed down from a square-cut hole in the ceiling and onto the sloping, four-cornered canopy over the raised altar in the centre of the room. From there, the rainwater pooled around the base of the altar's steps and drained away through some holes in the floor, keeping the rest of the room free of those pesky puddles.

Both the altar and canopy were made of a different kind of stone than the dull grey kind that made up the hallways. Rather, this variety was a rich shade of red, and appeared to be much more durable as the canopy only looked very slightly worn down by the elements. The walls of the room, too, were made of this stone, and their surfaces were adorned by intricate carvings depicting primitive illustrations of pokémon accompanied by strange inscriptions. Bellsprout appeared spellbound by all of this, but Camerupt merely grunted dismissively.

"Eh. Not the grandest place I've seen."

"But Camerupt," Bellsprout said, "look at that writing! Doesn't it look like Unown Runes to you?" He ran up to the nearest wall and gazed up. "It's gotta be Unown Runes! That means this temple _was_ made by humans!"

Sir Majestic Tail couldn't see what all the fuss was about. Who cared about some silly human runes? The idea of a written language based on the shapes of the unown pokémon seemed inconvenient at best, and the drawings were far from impressive. The anatomy was all off! He couldn't tell whether any given carving was of a wooper or a servine.

"Good grief, those humans should be ashamed of themselves!" Sir Majestic Tail walked up behind his leader and studied the images, tutting. The height of his flames increased, a visual indicator of his frustration. "Absolutely no regard to realism or accuracy! What is _that_ supposed to be?"

"Which one are you looking at?" Bellsprout asked, taking a small step away from Sir Majestic Tail to avoid the heat of the flames.

"Why, that vague squiggly shape, of course! It's the worst offender by far!"

"I think that's a tangela?"

"_Or_ it could be a tangrowth! How are we to know? Atrocious, simply atrocious!"

"If you two are done staring at a wall," Camerupt interjected, "why don't we shift focus and do what we actually came here to do?" He jerked his head in the direction of the altar.

Bellsprout ducked his head. "R-right, right, the treasure." He scurried over to the altar and began to ascend the steps. They seemed a little lofty for the diminutive pokémon, but he was strong enough to hoist himself up all the way, though his over-the-shoulder bag thumped against each step. Sir Majestic Tail walked up as well, finding it much less of a difficult task due to his long legs. Clearly, the steps were built with humans in mind, not pokémon.

Beneath the stone canopy, standing in the middle of the altar, was a large, ornate chest. It was made of silvery and gold coloured metals and was inscribed with more arcane symbols and patterns.

It was also wide open and completely empty inside.

"Well, what's in there?" Camerupt called from where he stood at the base of the steps. Bellsprout looked back at him apologetically.

"Uh, well, you see - "

"Nothing!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed, stamping a hoof. "All this way! We come all this way, and for what? A single, emptied chest!" He kicked it angrily, then quickly pulled his hoof back, wincing. The chest was made of tougher stuff than it looked. His kick hadn't even left a dent.

Camerupt hardly looked perturbed. "Ah, shit, someone must've got to it before us. That's a few hours of listening to Ponyta's complaining I'll never get back."

"That's all _you'll_ never get back?!" Sir Majestic Tail paced angrily. Bellsprout backed up out of his way, eyeing the ponyta's raging flames nervously. "Hours! Nearly a full day! I had to walk through wind and drizzle just to reach this accursed temple, then through all those damp, musty, filthy, _filthy_ halls, without a single feral in sight to keep us occupied, and we have nothing to show for it! I _told_ you we shouldn't have come, but you never - "

Sir Majestic Tail's attention was diverted when one of his hooves slid on something and he halted his pacing to lift his leg and take a look at what he had stepped on. On the floor in front of the chest was a small slip of paper. It had gone unnoticed until now. He stared at it accusingly.

"And what's this now? If it isn't some sort of map leading to the _real_ treasure, I'll eat my hat!"

"You don't have a hat," Bellsprout mumbled as he picked up the paper to read it.

"'Greetings to whoever is reading this! Sorry you were too slow to get the treasure, but there's always next time! Not to worry, we'll enjoy it thoroughly for you!'" Bellsprout sighed as he read the last part of the note. "'Signed, the lovely ladies of Team Charm.'"

Sir Majestic Tail's eye twitched. Of _course_ Team Charm cleaned the place out before Team Flame got there. They were every exploration team's worst nightmare - not only did they have the uncanny knack for tearing apart every ruin and cavern before anyone else had even heard of them, but they relished in making mockeries of other teams. Cheating, teasing, and, in this case, leaving mocking notes at the _end_ of arduous temples instead of pinning them up at their entrances so others would know the places had already been pillaged. For new teams trying to make a name for themselves, being one-upped by Team Charm was the ultimate embarrassment. If it wasn't bad enough, this wasn't even the first time they'd beaten Team Flame to the punch.

"Hey, Ponyta?" Camerupt started. "I know you're about to lose your cool, kiddo, but could you maybe not? It's just Team Charm being Team Charm. You know how they are."

Sir Majestic Tail attempted to take in a deep breath to calm himself, but he only managed to suck in a bit of air between his gritted teeth. "Lose my cool? Who, me? I would never. I am not. This is but a minor setback, yes! Nothing to go on a livid rampage over! Besides, we still have this chest! I'm sure it could fetch a nice sum at the market or among collectors!"

Camerupt gave him a tired look. "Oh, sure, of course, I'm sure it would if we could carry it without breaking our damn backs."

"Couldn't we?!" Sir Majestic Tail shoved against the chest to show how easy it was to move it. Unfortunately, the chest failed to easily move. He tried kicking it again, then bucked at it with his hind legs. It didn't budge an inch.

Something lightly touched Sir Majestic Tail's leg and he started, but it was only a vine Bellsprout had summoned. The leader smiled nervously at him.

"We're disappointed, too, Pon - I mean, Sir Majestic Tail - but you know this happens sometimes. We'll beat 'em to the punch next time for sure!"

Sir Majestic Tail opened his mouth to argue, but he didn't have the heart to yell at Bellsprout. Giving an irritated huff, he turned and trotted down the steps.

"I've had quite enough of this temple. Let us be gone from this wretched place."

"Wait, already?" Bellsprout sounded disappointed. "But...we could still look at the murals…"

Camerupt shrugged. "Eh, I'm getting kind of sick of this place, too. Not much of a point in sticking around if we don't have to."

Gloomily, Bellsprout said, "I guess you're right." From his bag he pulled out his explorer badge. "See you guys outside."

Camerupt's badge, which was affixed to the fur on his chest, glowed brightly before he was consumed by a pillar of light and transported out of the temple. Bellsprout vanished a moment later, leaving Sir Majestic Tail alone. He briefly considered throwing his fit of rage now that everyone was gone, but decided against it. What was the point of having a meltdown if no one was around to see it?

He took his own badge from one of the saddlebags and teleported away back to the entrance of the Underground Temple. Immediately, he was drenched in rain.

"Arceus's_ sake _I forgot aboutthe _storm_!"

There was no way either of his teammates heard him, however. The rain came down in sheets like some kind of nightmarish mega-waterfall and the furious wind whipped the downpour into nearly-horizontal blades. If it had been raining metal, Sir Majestic Tail had no doubt he would now be dead. Fortunately for him, it was just water, and the worst it could do was douse his flames, which it did.

He shouted curses that were lost in the din of the storm. Vaguely, he felt something touching his leg again and he looked down to see his leader attempting to say something to him. Bellsprout's words, too, were overpowered, and he had to mime his question with his vines. After the inquiry of whether he could ride home on Sir Majestic Tail's back was properly conveyed, the latter kneeled slightly, but not so much that his knees touched the muddy ground below, and Bellsprout clambered up onto his back awkwardly. Normally, he'd never be able to ride Sir Majestic Tail's back on account of the flames that burst forth along his neck and a thin line over his back, but like this there was no danger of Bellsprout being burned.

Slowly, Sir Majestic Tail set off in the direction of Treasure Town, Camerupt trailing behind due to his large hooves sinking deep into the muck with every step. Every few seconds, the sky was illuminated by flashes of forked lightning, and thunder growled angrily at frequent intervals. The storm was so massive that it was impossible to tell which thunderclap belonged to which bolt of lightning.

Walking through this was absolute misery. Water kept getting in Sir Majestic Tail's eyes and ears, and wet, squelching mud seeped beneath the fur around his hooves. At this point, he was sure he looked more like a mudsdale than a ponyta. The very thought horrified him. Could enough filth turn a racehorse into a draft? Was that how mudbrays were _really_ born?

"Gosh, what a storm!"

Sir Majestic Tail was startled both by the words and the fact that he had gotten so used to the cacophony of the storm that he could now hear words again. Bellsprout was clutching at his neck tightly, leaning in as close as he could to Sir Majestic Tail's folded ears.

"You think?!" Sir Majestic Tail yelled back. "This is a travesty! A nightmare! I'll never be clean again!"

"D'you think this is linked to the mystery dungeon problem?!"

"Wouldn't that just take the cake! First they ruin forests! Then stupid temples! Then the bloody weather! One more storm like this and I become a diglett and hide underground forever!"

But Sir Majestic Tail was more worried than angry about the possibility. The storm felt unnatural in scale; more massive and angry than he'd ever seen before. If this was truly linked to the recent influx of mystery dungeons…

He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts from his mind. No, no sense in stressing about that now. Right now, he just had to brave the storm and return to the base with the team. Then they'd be nicely out of the rain and could begin discussing their plans for the next adventure - hopefully one that wouldn't end in defeat by the paws of Team Charm. Yes, instead of viewing the storm as a bad thing, he could think of it as wiping the slate clean, a new beginning. That was a much more pleasant thought.

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**And that's the first chapter completed! If you read Embers, you'll see a handful of familiar faces in here. Of course, I couldn't include _everyone_, but that's just the nature of rewrites. You gotta change some things around to make it all fit.**

**Be sure to leave a review if you enjoyed it, or even if you hated it! Constructive criticism and flames are always welcome! The first four chapters will be uploaded biweekly, and after that I'm sticking to a weekly upload schedule.**

**(And don't you worry about leaving a lengthy copypasta, Hybrid - you and all your alts have already been preemptively blocked! You're welcome!)**


	2. Chapter 2: Mareep

**This one's a shorter chapter, but we're just getting warmed up here. Rest assured, I'll have you struggling to finish some 10,000-word monster of a chapter soon enough.**

**Fun fact: this is actually my second attempt at writing this rewrite. The first time I made it to about chapter 14, then realized I was doing it all wrong and started over. I've got a good feeling about this new direction, though.**

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Hidden behind a large boulder, a mareep watched as two explorers struggled through the powerful wind that battered the dry grasslands of Amp Plains. She could tell the pair - a bidoof and a sunflora - were explorers, not just because of the tell-tale bags each wore slung over their shoulders, but because she had seen them before. The funny thing about these explorer people was that they always came back, even if they had a really hard time not failing to get knocked out by a single rogue mareep.

She grinned and crept forward, concealed by the gloom of the dark clouds that hung low over the plains. To them she was just any other mareep, but to her they were her favourite hapless victims.

The moment she struck the bidoof with an electric blast, the sky chose to break open in a volley of lightning. Her target, whether from shock from the spectacular display or literal shock from the mareep's attack, fainted instantly. The sunflora quickly scooped up her downed teammate and both were consumed by a brilliant pillar of light. When the light faded, they were gone.

The mareep jumped back in alarm, but surprise almost immediately turned into frustration. Why'd they have to go and teleport out like that? Looting their bags after they passed out was half the fun.

More lightning crashed down intermittently. The air smelled of petrichor and smoke, but the rain had long stopped. The storm itself was slowly fading away. Soon, there would be nothing left but a handful of wildfires here and there and the memory of what had surely been the greatest storm of all time.

The mareep began to turn away to return to her flock, but a flash of lightning illuminated something left on the ground where the explorers had been. Curious, she walked back over and inspected the item. It was a small, rounded piece of metal with what looked like a crude imitation of a pair of wings on either side. She vaguely recalled having seen one of these before when she'd last gone through some explorer's bag, but at the time she hadn't considered it important enough to snatch up. Really, she still didn't. But it was a trophy, and she wasn't about to leave proof of her victory behind.

In a smooth, practiced motion, she picked up the object in her teeth and flung it up onto her back. She felt its weight settle into her wool then, satisfied with her prize, headed off towards her flock.


	3. Chapter 3: Cyndaquil

**Alright, I got a little ahead of myself with the upload of the first chapter. I wanted my upload day to be Friday, but I messed up the timing so now if I upload chapter 4 on Tuesday, I'll have to either upload 5 early or make y'all wait a week and a half for next Friday. And since I don't want to do either of those things, I'll cut you a deal. I'll post chapter 4 next week on Friday so you won't have to wait for it and so I won't run out of buffer chapters too quickly. Sound good? No? Too bad, I'm the author and I get to choose when I post.**

**Sorry, folks! Starting now, it'll be one chapter a week! Feel free to complain or tell me how much you actually don't care in the review section!**

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The sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm orange-pink glow over the entrance to the prestigious Wigglytuff Guild as a cyndaquil engaged in a stare-down with the sentry grate. The cyndaquil had already been standing here quite a while, immobilized by fear and indecision.

She had made the decision to apply to the guild long ago, but in all that time she hadn't even been able to muster the courage to approach the establishment. Depending on who you asked, the opinion of how intimidating it was ranged from 'mildly disconcerting' to 'wait, _this_ is what the best explorer's guild in the region looks like?' Sure, the tent that served as the entrance _did_ boast an imposing metal gate over its doorway, and to a grass-type the two burning iron cauldrons on either side of the tent might be seen as a little unnerving, but it was that tent itself that put most pokémon in a less nervous mindset. While its sides were made of simple woven burlap with a subtle design of painted-on orange swirls, it was topped with a magnificent dome made to look exactly like a wigglytuff. It was big, pink, and smiling in an open and inviting manner. Not even the most cowardly infant could be afraid of it.

Somehow, this ridiculous tent-topper failed to put Cyndaquil's mind at ease. It didn't matter how inviting it looked, she wouldn't be able to get in until she'd been identified. This was where the issue of the grate came in. Embedded in the ground before her was a grate made of criss-crossed branches and ringed with stone, and if she wanted the gate to be lifted for her, she would have to step over it.

Cyndaquil clenched and unclenched her fists, squinted eyes locked on the grate. There was really nothing to it. All she'd have to do is stand on it. That was it. Then she'd be through the gate and she could sign up and become an explorer-in-training.

A stray fluffy cloud floated over the sun and dimmed the light briefly, as if warning Cyndaquil that she didn't have all day. She inhaled deeply, then let it out in a sigh. She could do this.

Slowly, cautiously, she crept towards the grate and stepped over it. Beneath her was nothing but blackness. It would have been impossible to tell how far down the pit went if not for the sudden shout from at least ten yards below.

"POKÉMON DETECTED! POKÉMON DETECTED!"

Startled, Cyndaquil stumbled backwards off the grate, nearly falling on her behind. Another voice from beneath the grate had begun a return yell but she didn't stick around to hear it. She hastily turned tail and fled down the long staircase she'd had to ascend to reach the guild. Only after she'd reached the bottom of the stairs did she stop to catch her breath.

Cyndaquil looked back up towards the guild and felt a lump rise in her throat. How pathetic was she to make it all the way to the entrance only to run away after hearing a loud noise? She wanted to convince herself to stop being such a baby and get back up there to try again, but her disappointment in herself was too overwhelming. Frustrated and disheartened, she turned away and plodded down the forest path towards the beach.

Hard-packed dirt beneath her feet gave way to sand and she picked up her pace slightly. Warm, salty ocean air hit her nose as she stepped out onto the beach. The sea came into view and she slowed back down to take it in.

At this time of evening every day, the outcroppings of rock that lined the shore served as the perches to numerous krabbies who - as a sort of ritual - would blow bubbles from their mouths. The air was filled now with bubbles, dancing and swaying on the light breeze and catching the light on their lustrous surfaces.

Cyndaquil sat down by the shoreline to watch and let the sounds of the ocean waves melt her tension. It was her favourite place to come to after she'd had a shitty day, but it somehow wasn't quite doing the trick for her right now.

So what if she hadn't been able to sign up at the guild this time? It was no big deal. She could do it another day. She could just keep waiting until she somehow managed to stop being such a huge coward. It would happen. Eventually. Maybe.

Cyndaquil flopped backwards onto the sand and covered her face with her paws. Who was she kidding, she'd never work up the courage to join. With this kind of resolve, she was better off finding a nice mystery dungeon to become a hermit in, or just go all the way and turn feral.

"Ughhhhhhhh."

She rolled onto her side, looking down at the rest of the beach. As usual, she was the only one here, but she suddenly felt painfully lonely. She didn't want to become a hermit. She wanted to be an explorer. She wanted to be part of a team and make new discoveries and find treasure. She wanted...to _be_ someone.

"U-um, excuse me…"

Cyndaquil suddenly sat up and looked back in the direction of the voice. A bidoof had just stepped onto the beach behind her and was looking down awkwardly. He must have approached very quietly for her to not notice.

"Oh, uh, yes?" Cyndaquil asked, getting up and brushing the sand off her fur as best she could.

"Uh, well…" Bidoof shuffled his paws. "I - I'm Bidoof, and I'm one of the guild's trainees, and I couldn't help but notice you at the entrance just now, and, er…"

Cyndaquil's face coloured. Oh, no, one of the guild members had been around to witness her act of cowardice? How mortifying!

Seemingly oblivious to her discomfort, Bidoof went on, "...Well, first off, sorry I followed you out here, if you wanted to be alone or somethin', I for sure get that! I like to be alone sometimes, too, yup yup! And this beach sure is a nice place to go to, I reckon! Oh, uh, but you're probably wondering why I came out here at all, right?"  
Any anxiety Cyndaquil had felt from being spoken to by Bidoof had completely melted away. He said he was a guild member, but he didn't talk like some big-shot trainee. In fact, he sounded...incredibly awkward. She found herself feeling less sorry for herself than him at this point. Baffled, she just wordlessly nodded.

Now Bidoof sounded hesitant as he spoke. "I, er, oh golly this is going to sound weird, but when I saw you, the way you acted sorta reminded me of how I was when I wanted to join the guild, and I know this is a huge hunch, but I was wondering...if you were the same way?"

Cyndaquil worked the sentence through her mind several times, forward and back, and still couldn't figure out what the hell it meant. "The same way as what?"

Bidoof covered his face with a paw. "By golly, I knew I'd fudge this up!" he said. When he set his paw back down, Cyndaquil noticed some particles of sand had stuck to the fur on his face. "What I mean is, you look an awful lot like someone who wants to join Wigglytuff Guild but is too scared to - I mean, too, uh, hesitant! Oof, I really don't want to make it out like I'm disrespectin' you or nothin'! I'm sorry!"

Cyndaquil shook her head miserably. "No, you're right," she said, "I _was_ too scared. I'm just a big, stupid coward." She sat back down on the sand facing the sea and rested her paws on her haunches. "I can't join the guild like this."

"Sure you can!" Bidoof went over and sat next to her, an optimistic smile on his face. "I reckon I was even more nervous than you must be, yup yup! But the guild's not all that scary, I promise you! There's a lot of real nice pokémon training there with me, and they even help me out when I'm not doing so great! I promise you, you wouldn't be out of place at all, no sirree!"

Cyndaquil turned her head towards him, frowning. "Why are you helping me? I mean, I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but why do you want me to join so bad?"

Bidoof winced. "Oh, golly, I was hoping I wouldn't sound all that desperate… The truth is, I've been the newest member at the guild for a real long time, and even though everyone's nice and all that, it's hard to make real friends with people I look up to! I've been waiting for someone new to join, someone maybe less experienced than me, that I could make friends with! So I guess this all is a little bit selfish, but I want you to join not just because of altruism…" He swirled a paw around the sand in front of him, his expression nervous. "...but because I want a pal. Maybe someone I could help out, too, you know?"

It was a lot to take in, and Cyndaquil got the feeling that she couldn't really say 'no' after all that. What kind of jerk would refuse after someone asked them to be their one and only friend?

At the same time, though, she didn't _want_ to say no. She hadn't had much of a driving force before this, just the vague idea that she wanted to join so she could become someone important, and clearly that hadn't been enough to get her to stay on that grate. Now she had a proper reason. If she refused to join, she'd break this stranger's heart. Not the greatest reason, but by the gods, it was something. She just needed that push through the gates, and once she was in there, she could forge her own identity. The end would justify the means.

Before she could change her mind, she blurted, "I'll join."

Bidoof's eyes sparkled. "R-really?!"

"Yeah! You've convinced me, and...and I want to be your friend! I think you sound like a really nice person." That part wasn't a lie. As much as she thought Bidoof's wording hadn't exactly left her with much of a choice, she got the sense that it wasn't intentional on his part. Besides, she could use someone like him - that is to say, someone about as socially awkward as her - to show her the ropes and be her companion. Without him around, she wasn't sure how well she'd fare as a trainee among more skilled pokémon.

"Aw, shucks…" Bidoof looked like he was starting to tear up. "This is such a happy day… Finally, a new guild member…"

He quickly hopped to his feet, invigorated. "C'mon, Cyndaquil, let's head over there and get you all registered!"

Cyndaquil also stood, but suddenly felt uncomfortable again. "A-actually, my name is Flame."

Bidoof cocked his head sideways. "Really?"

Flame cringed. "Um, yeah. I know it's kinda weird, but my parents gave me that name, and it's always kinda stuck, so I don't know if I can go back to just plain ol' 'Cyndaquil'..."

"Well, I think it's a cool name!" Bidoof smiled. "Makes you sound real tough, yup yup!"

Chuckling awkwardly, Flame mumbled, "I dunno 'bout _tough_, but…"

"Sure it does! Now let's go! Light's a-wasting!"

Bidoof started back towards the path and Flame followed, but not before giving one last look over the beach. By now, the sun had nearly set and the krabbies were starting to head back into the ocean. The last few bubbles hung in the air, suspended in a moment in time. It felt almost symbolic to Flame - as the day was coming to an end, so too ended one chapter of her life. And when morning came, a new chapter would begin - the start of her training at the guild. She still felt insanely nervous, but she was excited now, too. Who knew what this new chapter would bring? Anything could happen.

Smiling a little to herself, Flame turned and followed Bidoof to the Wigglytuff Guild.

* * *

**By the way, in case you noticed something funny with the cover image, that's just another case of me being an idiot and accidentally leaving in the sketch layer. Yes, I know I'm a fuckup. I cry about it daily.**


	4. Chapter 5: Pikachu

**And finally, here we have our final character! I shan't jabber your head off this time, so read and enjoy!**

* * *

The first thing Julia felt was pain. She couldn't quite figure out where exactly that pain was coming from for the first few moments, and was just about ready to dismiss it as nothing worth gaining consciousness for when she felt it again. This time, she knew it was a jab to her back. Someone was poking her.

"Y'think 'e's dead?" came a somewhat nasally voice from somewhere above her.

"Nah, can't be, she's still breathing, see?" came another voice, less nasal and more low-pitched, beside the first.

"But 'e's not gettin' up! I say 'e's dead, for sure."

"You're being more of a dumbass than usual, mate. Look, she moved!"

"Ey, we oughta check 'em for loot 'fore 'e wakes up."

Julia struggled to right herself but for some reason found this too difficult a task. She settled on getting into a sitting position and immediately her head swam. The feeling of disorientation was almost enough to knock her out cold again.

"Whaddaya know, 'e _is_ alive after all!"

"'Course she's alive, that was obvious."

When Julia forced her eyes open, the world around her was dark. In the gloom, she could just vaguely make out two shapes above her, but her vision was blurry and her head ached terribly. Everything felt wrong. Something was terribly wrong here.

"Oi, bud, can you talk? Or are ya one of 'em ferals, eh?"

"F…" Julia tried to echo the word before realizing there was sand in her mouth. She coughed and spat it out, then tried to clear what was left on her tongue with a hand. But her hand wasn't a hand. It was a paw. A fluffy, soft, yellow paw.

"What...the fuck…?" She tried to stand up again, and realized what the problem was. Her legs were wrong. They were all bunched up and compact and, once again, fluffy and yellow. Her entire body was small. She wasn't a human anymore.

"...Y'think 'ere might be some'n wrong with 'em?"

Julia looked back up at the speaker and her eyes widened. Oh no. Oh _fuck_ no. Flapping its wings to stay aloft, a zubat hovered above her. Beside it was a koffing, eyeing Julia with suspicion.

Talking pokémon. These were talking pokémon. And if that wasn't bad enough, Julia was _also_ presumably a talking pokémon.

"You got brain damage or somethin'?" the koffing asked, moving in closer. "Or are all pikachus nuts like you?"

Julia had to fight to stay calm. Before her were a pair of pokémon who didn't exactly look like the friendliest of guys, and the way they loomed over her made her feel like they were deciding whether she was worth keeping conscious. If she made one wrong move, it was potentially lights-out for her. She had to play along.

"I...no, I was just a little...disoriented, y'know?" She rubbed the back of her head, uncomfortable with how fuzzy it felt. "Sorry, I must've been out quite a while."

She took that moment to observe her surroundings. As she had gathered from the sand in her mouth, she was on a beach of sorts that was lines with various rocky outcropping. To her left was the sea and to her right was a grove of trees. It was dark out - whether that was due to the time of day or the dark clouds overhead, she couldn't tell. Everything felt massive to her.

"Whaddaya doin' 'ere, anyway?" the zubat asked. "I haven't heard any pikachus 'round 'ere in, like, forever."

"I'm…" Discomfort turned into panic as Julia tried in vain to bring up any memories. "Shit, I, uh…" Her entire mind was a blank. She had nothing to fall back on. She couldn't even make up a backstory on the fly; how could she, when she had no idea where the hell she was and how this world functioned?

Before the zubat and koffing could get too suspicious, she admitted, "I can't actually...remember anything. I think I have amnesia."

She expected them to call her crazy or accuse her of lying, but the two merely turned to each other and exchanged looks. She didn't really understand how that worked, given that Zubat didn't appear to have eyes, but they seemed to pick up on whatever they were nonverbally communicating to each other.

"No memory, huh?" Koffing asked, giving her a sidelong look.

"Yes…?"

The corners of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "Tell me, Pikachu, what're you planning on doing with yourself? Where're you gonna go?"

Julia faltered. Those were some good questions she had no answers to. "I'm...not sure."

"It's a tough world out 'ere, y'know!" Zubat chimed in. "Lotsa real tough, real nasty pokémon who'd be happy t' take advantage of a poor pikachu who doesn' 'ave any memory."

"But I'm just thinking…" Koffing's smirk widened. "...we're real nice folks, see, and we wouldn't want nothing bad to happen to you. In exchange for a few small favours here and there, we'd be more than happy to take you in under our wings."

"Ey, Koffing, you ain't got wings!" Zubat said, beating his own wings a little harder for emphasis. Koffing heaved a sigh.

"How many times have I gotta tell you, mate, that's just an expression!"

"Yeah, well, we 'unno how smart 'e is, 'e might not know that!"

Julia frowned at them, trying to somehow pick up on their motives from what they were saying. There was something about their mannerisms that made them seem deeply untrustworthy, but she didn't know how much of a choice she had in the matter. They were offering to take care of her, which was more of a courtesy than other pokémon might offer. And they didn't exactly come across as being the brightest of bulbs. She might be able to figure out what caused her to turn into a pokémon and lose her memory without rousing their suspicions.

"So, whaddaya say, Pikachu?" Koffing asked, turning back to her. "We got a deal?"

"Sure, I accept," she replied. "I appreciate your generosity."

The two seemed taken aback, as if they hadn't actually expected her to agree. Koffing composed himself first and cleared his throat.

"Alright, well, now that that's done, we'd best head back over to the ol' cave. It'll be morning soon."

"Heck, we sure stayed up late, eh?" Zubat yawned. "Musta been that storm throwin' us all outta whack!"

"Storm?" Julia echoed.

"Yeah, real big, nasty storm the other day," Zubat explained. "All thundery and rainy, y'know? Was almost too scared t' leave the base!" After a moment, he added, "But I wasn' scared because that'd be real lame."

"_Sure_ you weren't," Koffing scoffed, rolling his eyes. Turning to Julia, he said, "You just follow me, got it? The base is right around the corner."

He began to float off into the woods, Zubat in close pursuit, and Julia slowly set off after them. She got the feeling that what she was doing was wrong, but then again, this whole situation was wrong. She only had to stay with Koffing and Zubat until she had some idea about what happened to her and how she could reverse it. _If_ she could. If she was stuck as a pokémon forever, what would she do? How could she live this lie for the rest of her life?

She shook her head. No, she was getting ahead of herself. There was no guarantee what would happen either way. She'd just have to take it all in stride and figure things out as they came. It would be alright.

* * *

For the second time in the same day, Julia woke up in pain. Her limbs felt horribly cramped up and she was pretty sure her backside was bruised. It was as if she'd slept on a cold stone floor all night.

When she'd forced herself up into a sitting position and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she realized that she had, in fact, been sleeping on a cold stone floor. She was in a dark, damp cave filled with long stalagmites and stalactites, as well as a faintly unpleasant smell. Squinting deeper into the cave, she could see a small stockpile of food, which made her suddenly realize how hungry she was. When was the last time she ate, anyways?

Julia arched her back in a stretch, then quietly walked over to the pile on her hind legs. Walking on all fours was a line she wasn't prepared to cross yet, even if it would rouse suspicion. She couldn't stand the thought of walking on the same paws she'd touch food with, and she prayed poor hygiene wouldn't be a problem in this world.

"Afternoon, Pikachu!"

Julia froze, paw halfway outstretched towards an apple, as Zubat fluttered down from wherever he'd been sleeping on the cave ceiling.

"Good afternoon," she responded cautiously. She'd somehow completely forgotten who she was rooming with here. "Hey, you wouldn't mind if I had a bite to eat here, would you?"

"Knock yerself out!" Zubat said. "But don' actually, cuz we'll need'ju later today."

She picked the apple off the pile and took a small bite before realizing that _holy shit _she was hungry. The whole thing was downed in a flash, and it took a measure of self-restraint to not immediately wolf down the rest of the pile.

"Geez, you musta been real starvin'!" Zubat flashed Julia a fanged grin. "Hope yer also hungry fer a bit of explorin'!"

Julia felt her ears perk up in interest. "Exploring? What do you mean by that?"

Zubat landed on the ground next to her and took a berry from the pile with a claw. "Oh, y'know." He shoved the berry in his mouth and chewed noisily. "Jusht goin' outh to mythtry gunjunsh 'n shtuff."

"I...didn't quite get that."

Swallowing his mouthful, Zubat said, "It goes like this, right: we all pick a dungeon, hang out there for th' night, 'n come home after, easy as pie!"

Julia sighed. This was going to get annoying fast. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'dungeon'."

Zubat cocked his head sideways. "You sure ain't got a clue 'bout nothing, do ya?"

"I really don't remember a thing."

"Hmm...well, it's like…" Zubat tilted his ears forward, apparently deep in thought, then perked up. "Oh! I'll jus' get Koffing t'explain it, 'e's gotta real way with words, yaknow!" Without missing a beat, he turned his head back and yelled, "HEY KOFFING CAN YA COME 'ERE T'EXPLAIN A THING!"

There came the sound of muffled grumbling before Koffing tiredly rose up from behind a stalagmite. "You couldna lemme sleep a minute longer, mate?" he slurred.

"Sorry, Koffing!" Zubat said, his expression completely unapologetic. "But Pikachu 'ere's all confused 'bout myst'ry dungeons an' I thought you'd be best at 'splainin' 'em to 'em!"

Koffing looked at Julia accusingly, once again giving her the feeling that he was scrutinizing her worth. The expression was quickly replaced by a smirk and he floated over to join the other two by the food.

"I think it'd be best if we gave you the grand tour of the town," he said slowly. "Might as well start makin' yourself known 'round these parts."

"Well...alright." His inflections made him sound untrustworthy as hell, but Julia was beginning to suspect that was just the way he talked. "Are we heading out now, then?"

"Save the impatience for later," Koffing said, "I haven't even had breakfast yet!"

Julia raised her paws up defensively and backed away to let him eat in peace. With nothing better to do, she wandered away to look around the cave. She'd been so groggy when they'd led her in earlier that morning that she hadn't bothered to really check the place out.

A heap of stacked boulders near the elevated entrance served as a crude stairway out of the cave. Julia vaguely remembered stumbling down it and even now wondered if she'd be adept enough at using her new limbs to manoeuvre back up. In the opposite direction, cone-shaped rocky formations grew so thick and numerous that they formed a nearly-impenetrable wall save for a path that had been made through the stalagmites. Julia picked her way down the path to venture further into the cave.

It only took a few seconds of walking to reach a larger room that appeared to be the furthest part of the cavern. Here, stacks of golden coins and various trinkets were scattered about, and what Julia could only describe as a nest sat at the centre of it all. The nest, upon closer inspection, seemed to be made up of various furs and dried grasses. It looked like it would make for a lovely bed - if it didn't smell like something had died in it. The entire chamber had a distinct but somewhat faded reek, and Julia was quick to return to the main part of the cave, which smelled leagues better in comparison. Zubat and Koffing were muttering something to each other in hushed tones, but broke off as soon as they noticed the pikachu re-enter the room.

"Ready to go, Pikachu?" Koffing asked.

"Who sleeps back there?" Julia jerked her head back in the direction of the chamber. Zubat and Koffing exchanged a glance.

"Well, that'd be the boss's room," said Zubat, "but 'e's not 'ere right now. 'E'll be back any day now, so you'll get t' meet 'em soon." For some reason, he sounded a little reluctant when he spoke. Julia didn't bother to press further, however, and Zubat quickly shook it off.

"Anyway, let's show ya 'round town! If ya really don't know nothin', then you gotta lot t' learn!" He flew up above the boulder staircase and vanished from sight. Koffing gestured to Julia, then followed after. Julia hopped up onto the first boulder and was relieved at how easy it was to jump up such a large object. While she found it a little unnerving how quickly she was getting used to being a pikachu, she wasn't about to complain about a good thing, and she challenged herself to dash up the rest of the boulders as fast as she was able. She only stumbled a bit at the top, but it was minor enough that Koffing and Zubat didn't seem to notice.

The three headed back through the trees until they emerged back on the beach. The sun was bright overhead, the last remains of the stormclouds drifting far in the distance across the sea. In full daylight, the world seemed too vivid and blinding to Julia and she had to squint. She found herself feeling somewhat grateful that Zubat and Koffing apparently ran on a more nocturnal schedule. By the time they reached the small path heading away from the beach, her eyes had adjusted enough that she didn't have to squint quite as much and she was now able to take in her surroundings painlessly.

The first thing she picked up on, however, were the sounds. It was faint, but she could hear dozens of voices coming from up ahead. Her ears fell back against her head as though instinctively trying to block the noise. She assumed they were approaching the town, but it felt a little too loud. Confound those oversized pikachu ears.

The path eventually met three others at a crossroads. Ahead of them was a tall hill with a long, looming stairway leading up. To the right was a well-trodden path leading into the woods, and to the left was an even more well-trodden path leading into the sea of sound.

"We'll start by showin' you around the town," Koffing began, "then maybe we can squeeze in an assignment or two if we've got time."

Julia nodded wordlessly, her eyes flicking back up to the imposing stairway. Koffing followed her gaze and made a face.

"That's the Wigglytuff Guild up there. We'll tell you all about _that_ later. C'mon, Pikachu, keep up." He turned and floated down the left path. Zubat went after him, but not before taking a moment to stick his tongue out at the hill. Julia shot another curious glance back in the direction of the guild before following.

The path wasn't very long and soon the woods opened up into a wide space cleared of trees. There, along a dirt road, were groups of colourful tents in the shapes of different pokémon. Each was manned by a pokémon, and other pokémon milled about, talking with each other or standing by the tents to, presumably, buy goods. It was noisy, but not so noisy that Julia couldn't stand it.

"Welcome to Treasure Town," Koffing said, floating in a semicircle around Julia as if making a sweeping movement to show off the surroundings. "It's kind of a dump, but it definitely ain't the worst I've seen." He chuckled. "At least it's an actual town with a real name."

Zubat sniggered at that. "Yeah, it ain't th' worst but ain't the best, neither!"

The two led Julia further into town. It appeared that the pokémon in the tents were offering services or items for sale, and while many were preoccupied with helping customers or checking their wares, some eyed Julia with curiosity. They didn't seem to be hostile, however; in fact, there was an overall positive, friendly atmosphere and Julia allowed herself to relax a little bit.

"That there's about the only shop you'll ever need to visit," Koffing said, nodding towards a kecleon-shaped tent run by - who would've guessed it - two kecleons, one coloured the normal green and the other an exotic purple. "They'll sell ya your basic apples and foodstuffs, but if you've got cash to spare, they sell more useful stuff, too." He leaned in closer to whisper in Julia's ear. "If you ask me, though, all their junk's hella overpriced."

Julia nodded, flashing a quick smile to the pair of shopkeeps, who waved amicably to her. The three eventually passed the last tent and emerged on the other side of the town. Past this point, the ground ahead gradually narrowed before tapering off into a cliff. Beyond that was the sea. Zubat and Koffing led Julia a little ways further before coming to a stop.

"That wasn't all that grand of a tour," Koffing said, "but you get the gist of it. Here you'll get most of whatchu need - if you've got the cash for it." His expression turned sour. "See, Pikachu, this world runs on coins. If you ain't got Poké, you got nothing, see?"

Julia nodded. "That makes sense."

"Sure it does. You gotta have some order to keep up society, yeah?"

"But er'ryone's a greedy dirtbag!" Zubat cut in angrily. "Like 'em shopkeeps? 'Ey price up 'em goods way high 'til it ain't even worth it! Ya might as well jus' go out to th' myst'ry dungeon 'em louts picked 'em up from and get 'em yerself!"

Koffing nodded. "Here's the problem, though: mystery dungeons ain't just your run-of-the mill forests or caves or whatnot. They're strange places where time and space don't work right. Every time you go in, the path to the end is different. It's enough to drive anyone mad, see?"

Julia was having a hard time getting that through her head. "So...they're like mazes?"

"Well, it's more complicated than that," Koffing said, "but yeah, they're kind of like mazes. But not only is it real easy to get lost in 'em, they're also full of ferals."

There was that word Julia had heard earlier. "What's a feral?"

Zubat answered that one for her. "That's what 'ey call pokémon that live in myst'ry dungeons, cuz 'ey're all crazy-like! 'Ey hunt'chu down even when yer jus' mindin' yer own damn business an' 'ey won't quit attackin' you 'til either 'ey're knocked out or you are!"

"'Course, all civilized pokémon were once ferals," Koffing added. "I mean, my family line's only a couple generations out of the dungeons, and I'll bet you anything those damn kecleon brothers in town are still secretly feral."

"Maybe 'at's why you lost yer memory, ey Pikachu?" Zubat suggested eagerly. "Yer brain decided to up 'n suppress 'em horrible memories?"

Julia offered a faint smile. "Hmm, maybe," she replied, not even entertaining the notion. "So, the problem is that to sell items for money, or acquire them for your own use, you have to go through one of these dangerous 'mystery dungeons'." She frowned. "So you can only hope to survive in this society by being strong or rich. That doesn't sound fair."

Koffing's eyes lit up and he nodded enthusiastically. "See, you get it! You ain't such a dumb pikachu, are ya? Most of the world seems fine with this whole system, but they don't see the injustice like those of us on the other end do!" He spoke a little hesitantly as he added, "Like, take me 'n Zubat 'ere. We ain't exactly...the strongest around, see? Two hits from your lowest-level feral, and we're out like a light."

"Heh, yeah," Zubat said, "an' light hurts us, too! Sorta, anyway. We sunburn real easy."

So _that_ was why they slept through part of the day. "Then how do you guys get by?" Julia asked.

Koffing gave a sly smirk. "Now, here's where we get back at society, see? The biggest sham of all are the exploration teams. You go to some guild - like the Wigglytuff Guild - for a few years to give up nearly all your earnings to the fuckwads running the place, then come out knowing how to take money from hapless pokémon who need help gettin' outta dungeons."

Julia furrowed her brows. "...What?"

"Pokémon get lost or injured in mystery dungeons all the time," he explained, "and them or their loved ones send out rescue requests. Thing is, none of the teams will want to take the request if the job don't pay enough, see? They fill their bags with Poké while trampling on the helpless."

"Yeah, 'em teams suck, so we steal from 'em!" Zubat cut in brightly. Koffing whipped around to stare at him with a panicked expression.

"Sh-shut up!" he snapped. "I - I mean, it's - when you put it _that_ way, of course it'd sound - look, they deserve it, alright? They're scummy an' jerks an' - "

Julia held up a paw, immediately silencing Koffing. "You don't have to try to justify yourselves to me. I've heard enough."

Zubat and Koffing shared an uneasy glance, and Julia caught Zubat mouth 'sorry' to his companion. She suddenly realized how her tone must have sounded and she laughed lightly.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to freak you out," she said quickly. "No, what I meant was I get where you're coming from. If you want me around to help you out with this, I'm on your side."

"Phew!" Zubat sighed, looking relieved. "Fer a secon' there I thought I messed the whole thing up!"

Koffing nudged him warningly, but he too wore a look of relief. "So, how 'bout it, Pikachu? You ready to go on a 'mission'?"

Julia swallowed and nodded. Out of all the directions she'd expected to take after she woke up on that beach, becoming a thief was among the most remote possibilities. But if it was for the sake of giving a corrupt system the middle finger, she was fine with it.

"Ey, isn't this great, Koffing?" Zubat asked, grinning. "We got ourselves another teammate! An' I'll bet 'e's gonna be real strong, right, Pikachu?"

Julia laughed nervously. "Yeah, sure." She had no idea how powerful she would be in her new form, but she wasn't about to let them know. She'd just have to try to get used to being a pikachu as quickly as possible.

Koffing looked thoughtful. "Y'know, you could do better to match our colour aesthetic. Maybe we'll getchu a purple scarf or somethin'."

"What're you talkin' 'bout?" Zubat asked, cocking his head. "'E seems fine t' me."

"If you had eyes, you'd see what I mean. It's a travesty, y'know?" Koffing shook himself and continued, "Aw, let's forget about it for now. It's time we got to work." He gave Julia a mischievous grin. "Whaddaya say we pay the guild a little...visit?"

Julia did her best to match the expression. "I'm in. Let's do it."

* * *

**It's Crime Time, baby! This was one of the big changes that drove me to rewrite this story, among other things (less edge, less romantic drama, less needless complications by way of), and I'm really excited to get to write characters differently this time! Also, Koffing and Zubat are two of my favourite PMD characters. Don't judge.**

**Anywho, updates are now every Friday, in case ya missed it, so I'll see you all in a week (or, again, in one click if you're reading this from the far-off future). Please drop a review if you enjoyed it or thought it sucked - reviews are the delicious fuel that keeps me going!**


	5. Chapter 5: Ponyta

**Crime time has long passed and now it's justice time. You could even say...Sir Majustice Time?**

**I'll see myself out.**

* * *

"Hey, Ponyta, you planning on joining us anytime today?"

Sir Majestic Tail paused in his pacing at the foot of the Wigglytuff Guild stairway to look up at his teammates, who were already halfway up. Camerupt jerked his head impatiently and continued marching up the steps while Bellsprout paused to beckon to the ponyta encouragingly.

"Oh, erm, why don't the two of you head on up without me?" Sir Majestic Tail suggested. "I'm certain you will be perfectly capable of choosing an assignment without me! In fact," he continued, already backing away, "I just remembered there are a number of things we need to purchase! Goodness, have you even seen our supply of reviver seeds? Why, we're practically out!"

"What's got your tail in a twist?" Camerupt asked, throwing a glance over his shoulder. "Staircase too dirty for you or somethin'?"

Sir Majestic Tail gave the stairs a dubious look. "Well, not that they aren't looking a tad malformed after all that rainy nonsense, but that's not quite it."

Camerupt groaned. "Oh, no, this isn't about Chatot, is it?"

The very mention of the name made Sir Majestic Tail flinch. Every time Team Flame came to the guild to pick out a job or two the guild's second-in-command, Chatot, was somehow able to sniff them out and would immediately approach to strike up conversation. Usually, talk would be brief and they could escape from the encounter intact, but the last time Team Charm had foiled one of Team Flame's expeditions, the bird had somehow heard about it and proceeded to lump gentle but highly passive-aggressive scoldings on them for what had felt like hours. And in front of all the other teams in the room, too! It had been immensely embarrassing, to say the least.

But three days had passed since Team Flame had come home from the expedition, and with no other plans for outings in the works, they had no choice but to take some ordinary job requests from the boards at Wigglytuff Guild. Sir Majestic Tail had stalled as much as possible, dreading the inevitable encounter, but his excuses had run out, and the team was sick of waiting around and doing nothing.

"C'mon, Sir Majestic Tail," Bellsprout said, "we'll just be in and out, real quick! Chatot won't even know we were there!"

"No, no, I simply refuse!" Sir Majestic Tail insisted, stamping a hoof. "I can't even risk it! Oh, what would he say? He'd be so disappointed!"

Smirking, Camerupt said, "Guess we'll just have to pick the job ourselves without any of your input. Whaddaya say, Bellsprout, you in the mood to take some Brine Cave rescue missions?"

Sir Majestic Tail gasped in alarm. "You wouldn't!"

"We might," Camerupt replied. He turned and walked the rest of the way up and Bellsprout, after shooting Sir Majestic Tail a light smile, followed. The ponyta remained at the bottom a moment longer, weighing his options, before quickly racing up after them.

Camerupt noticed him once he'd reached the top and raised an eyebrow. "Changed your mind, did you?"

"As if I'd ever sit idly by while you intentionally chose horrible dungeons for us!"

With the three of them gathered by the entrance, Bellsprout stepped onto the grate in front of the tent. A voice called up from below.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

In return, a second voice asked, "WHOSE FOOTPRINT? WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

"It's Team Flame!" Bellsprout called down. "I'm here with Camerupt and Ponyta!"

After a moment, the first voice responded, "You're good to go, Bellsprout!" At the same time, the gate in front of the guild's entrance rose up, granting passage into the tent.

"Thanks!" Bellsprout turned and beckoned to his team. "Alright, let's go!" He entered the tent and began climbing the ladder that led down onto the guild's main floor. Sir Majestic Tail and Camerupt followed, descending more slowly. The ladders were strong and element-resistant, but climbing them with hooves was somewhat of an ordeal. Sir Majestic Tail was very used to it however, and elegantly disembarked at the bottom while Camerupt had to struggle to balance himself on the ladder's skinny beams as his humps scraped the wall behind him. The ladder tunnels were meant to be wide enough for any and all pokémon to safely move through them, but unfortunately not wide enough for everyone to do so _comfortably_.

Of course, it would be a wasted effort to kindly suggest Camerupt waited outside while the rest of the team chose their assignment. No matter how awkward or potentially embarrassing the journey was, where the team went he went.

The main floor was bustling with activity. Guild recruits and exploration teams alike were gathered in small groups to discuss job requests or recent news, though Sir Majestic Tail could also pick up on some snippets of gossip here and there. Despite being a storey below ground, the room was brightly lit up by the four circular windows positioned around the room. Once, the ponyta had marvelled that an underground building could have windows looking outside, but the novelty of a guild built into the side of a cliff eventually wore off, especially once he realized that lighting up a dark room with the aid of blazing torches would have looked much more impressive.

Sir Majestic Tail scanned the room for any sign of Chatot, but the pokémon was nowhere to be seen. Giving a relieved sigh, he joined Bellsprout at the job board on the wall right of the ladders. Many tacked-on pieces of paper covered it, but as Sir Majestic Tail leaned in to read the requests, he was disappointed to find most of them were simple item delivery or retrieval requests, or dreaded escort missions, and the few rescue requests were all low-difficulty. Those were better left for new teams and trainees.

"Hmph," Camerupt grunted, having come up next to them at some point to take a look at their options himself. "Nothing here's worth our time. Why don't we just take an outlaw notice instead? Those might at least be a _bit_ challenging."

"For once, I must agree with you," Sir Majestic Tail said. He lowered his voice slightly to add, "As much as I'd like to just take any request and leave as soon as possible, I'd rather not die of boredom on the job!"

He and Camerupt began to walk off to the outlaw notice board on the other side of the room when Bellsprout said, "Hold up a moment, take a listen to this one." He pulled off one of the notes and read it aloud. "'Our precious Water Float has gone missing! Please, we'll give anything to get it back!' And then there's a list of locations and dungeons it might've ended up in."

"How is that any better than the rest of 'em?" Camerupt asked, sounding unimpressed.

"It says here the clients are those little kids from town, Marill and Azurill."

Sir Majestic Tail stopped in his tracks and looked back. "The marill brothers put that one up?"

Bellsprout nodded. "That's what it says here. They must've lost something important."

If it had been anyone else who had posted that job, Sir Majestic Tail wouldn't have batted an eye, but this was a different story. The marill brothers were well known around Treasure Town as the two most polite and responsible kids anyone had ever met, and the idea of turning down a request from them was unthinkable.

Camerupt's expression and tone instantly softened. "Those kids, eh? Well, I guess I can't say no to that kind of request."

"Of course not!" Sir Majestic Tail agreed emphatically. "Why, it's a wonder no one has taken it already! Are we really the only team who isn't completely heartless?"

Bellsprout gave a light laugh then folded up the note and stuck it in his bag. "Now that that's sorted, let's get out of here before Chatot spots us."

"Before _who _spots you?"

Speak of the devil. All three Team Flame members spun to look at Chatot, who appeared to have just flown up from the guild member-only ladder that descended one floor beneath the main level. The bird pokémon smiled at them pleasantly.

"It's been quite a while since I've last seen you boys!" he said. "Really, you ought to drop in more often!" He turned to Sir Majestic Tail, who was beginning to feel sweat running down his neck. "Especially you, Sir Majestic Tail! But of course, it's to be expected! I'm sure you're all very busy with explorations and such!"

"Yes, that we certainly are!" Sir Majestic Tail replied, his voice strained. "In fact, we're just heading out now on another assignment! Really, we'd better go now, wouldn't want to keep our clients waiting, but it's really been a pleasure talking!"

He'd barely taken a step in the direction of the ladders before Chatot piped up, "Oh, but before you go, how did your recent expedition go?"

Blast. Sir Majestic Tail shot a glance back at his teammates, who shrugged helplessly. There was no lying to Chatot. It wasn't that they couldn't get away with it - Chatot had a tendency to be astoundingly gullible, and with enough persuasion and a reputable source or two backing you up, you could get him to believe you were really Arceus in disguise.

It just felt incredibly bad to lie to him.

"O-oh, so you heard about it, did you?" Sir Majestic Tail said.

"Word gets around fast in this town, you know! Hee hee!" Chatot's metronome-like tail wagged back and forth evenly. "It was Underground Temple, wasn't it? What did you discover?"

"Well…" Sir Majestic Tail thought for a moment on how to best sugarcoat it. "We explored it very thoroughly! No room left unexplored, no hallway left unsearched, all that! Did you know it was, in fact, a mystery dungeon? Another ancient piece of history made victim to the plague! Not only that, the entire place was leaky as a dam! Water pooling absolutely everywhere, it was really a traumatizing mess. I think you'll agree it is all a very upsetting situation!"

Chatot ruffled his feathers and shook his head. "A common tragedy. Such a pity that more and more fascinating locations are becoming dungeons."

"Yes, a true tragedy indeed!"

There was an awkward silence. Chatot gave Sir Majestic Tail a look that implied the question, 'And?'

"And...well, let me preface this by saying we really were the first team to express interest in this temple after it was discovered, and we were by far the most thorough team…" Sir Majestic Tail's smile was pained. "...but when we reached the centre, we were shocked to find it pillaged already! According to a note - a highly impolite note, I might add! - Team Charm had somehow arrived there ahead of us." He raised his chin, looking contemptuous. "Evidently, they were so obsessed with the thought of finding treasure that they didn't bother to properly take time to explore, unlike us! Wretched behaviour, isn't it?"

Chatot's smile dimmed slightly and the tired look in his eyes became more pronounced. "You do remember Guildmaster Wigglytuff used to be a part of Team Charm?"

Sir Majestic Tail had forgotten. "Of course I remember, yes! But that must have been a long time ago, and see how Team Charm has degraded without him!"

"They _were_ the ones who reached the end of the temple before you." Chatot's demeanour had turned chilly. Sir Majestic Tail swallowed, unable to think of how to backpedal.

"...There were some murals," Bellsprout said unhelpfully.

Other pokémon in the room had by now noticed the exchange going on, but they were pretending not to be paying attention to it. Sir Majestic Tail could feel the heat of a thousand side-eyes at him. He had to bail, and fast.

"W-well! As always, it's been a pleasure talking with you, but really, we should get going now - "

"One more thing, if you will!"

Sir Majestic Tail gritted his teeth. "Yes?"

"How are Maractus and Lanturn doing these days?"

All the blood drained from Sir Majestic Tail's face. He could almost feel the discomfort radiating off of his teammates behind him, but Chatot seemed not to have noticed the change in atmosphere.

"I...I haven't been in correspondence with them for years," Sir Majestic Tail managed. "I've already told you, we've all gone our separate ways."

"Yes, well, there's no reason not to keep in touch even after you've moved on, is there?" Chatot didn't sound reproachful, just disappointed. "You know, the three of you were some of this guild's brightest trainees. Truly, you were our star pupils while you still trained with us!" He made no effort to conceal the sharp glance he sent at Bellsprout and Camerupt and he lowered his voice marginally to add, "You, Lanturn, and Maractus really _were_ the perfect team." Then he sprung back to a more cheerful tone. "They really don't make them nowadays like they used to, I should say!"

This was beyond awkward. Sir Majestic Tail gave his teammates an apologetic look. "Say, how about you two head on out and I meet you out there? I expect I'll be finishing this conversation up shortly!"

Neither Bellsprout nor Camerupt seemed eager to argue with that. They quickly went over to the ladder and climbed out of earshot of any more thinly-veiled insults. Sir Majestic Tail felt as though he was on the brink of snapping. For being a music-oriented pokémon, Chatot was astoundingly tone-deaf.

But as much as Sir Majestic Tail wanted to vehemently defend his current team, he couldn't bring himself to oppose the second-in-command. The ponyta had been his prized student when he was still a trainee, after all, and the thought of getting into an argument with him made him feel ill. Besides, the subtle attention of every explorer in the room was still on him. What would they think if he implied such a highly-regarded pokémon was incorrect in his judgement?

Finally appearing to sense at least a smidgen of Sir Majestic Tail's unease, Chatot said, "Oh, but we gained a promising new recruits a couple of days ago! And she seems a little shy right now, but I know a great adventurer in the making when I see one!"

Sir Majestic Tail sighed, both out of relief at the change of subject and of annoyance that this conversation was still somehow going. "Is that so? That's wonderful to hear!"

"Indeed! And coincidentally, her name just so happens to be Flame! Curious, isn't it?"

Sir Majestic Tail found that he didn't care in the slightest. "Very curious, yes!" he said, edging his way towards the ladder. "Horribly sorry, Chatot, but I _really_ must be going! I wouldn't wish to hold up my team any longer, not that it hasn't been absolutely _lovely_ conversing with you!"

Chatot chuckled, waving a wing. "Yes, of course, you wouldn't want to leave your team without its strongest link! Go on ahead, rejoin your group! But come back again soon! There's still much I would love to discuss with you!"

Sir Majestic Tail didn't hesitate to quickly head over to the ladder and ascend, almost slipping off the spindly beams in his haste to exit the guild. Once he reached the top, he immediately exited the tent and took in a deep breath of air as though the atmosphere in the guild had been toxic. Bellsprout, who had been waiting with Camerupt just outside the tent, shot Sir Majestic Tail a sympathetic look.

"So, uh, how'd it go?"

Sir Majestic Tail didn't reply and instead skulked his way down the stairs, flames practically simmering blue. The other two followed wordlessly and the trio began to make their way towards town. It was an awkward few minutes before the former finally broke the silence.

"I cannot emphasize enough how much I _loathe_ that guild."

Camerupt snorted. "I don't get you, Ponyta. I'd have expected you and Chatot would get along famously, but you act like he's worse than Giratina."

"Of course we'd get along well! His tastes and intellect almost perfectly match mine! I was the best trainee at the guild before I graduated and he knew it! But - !" Sir Majestic Tail stamped about in an angry circle around his teammates, leaving embers burning in his wake. "But! He simply can_not_ take a hint! For goodness' sake, can he not see I wish to have nothing more to do with him? All the ceaseless pestering and nagging! It's more than I can stand!"

"Speaking of standing," Bellsprout began, nervously eyeing the embers, "I can't really keep standing in this ring of fire you made around us - "

"And then he dares insult my team!" Sir Majestic Tail went on as if he hadn't heard Bellsprout. "Sure, it may have been _your_ fault that I had to be dragged out to that miserable subterranean labyrinth, but Team Charm were ultimately the wrongdoers here! Why must he always be so quick to point a wing at the two of you whenever the slightest problem arises? By Arceus if he ever catches me when not a single soul is within a mile of the two of us, I ought to set him straight!"

While Sir Majestic Tail ranted, Camerupt gently picked up Bellsprout's spindly body using his mouth and lifted him over the simmering embers on the ground. This proved to be a pointless act, as Sir Majestic Tail's continued pacing was starting more miniscule fires along the path.

"Hey, Ponyta," Camerupt growled, "quit burning up the road, wouldja?"

Sir Majestic Tail definitely did hear him, but his only response was to pace in a smaller area.

"Not to mention bringing up the matter of my _old _team! Right in front of you! I respect that man but I truly cannot tell if he is tactless or merely ignorant!"

"You're overreacting, Ponyta," Camerupt said, now going around and stomping out the embers. "We don't care about what Chatot thinks of us."

"N-not that we don't appreciate your concern about our feelings!" Bellsprout chimed in. "But really, it's okay! Even if you all really _were_ the best team ever, it doesn't matter because you're in a new team now, and you like it just as well, right?"

Sir Majestic Tail stopped pacing and bit his lip. He had pushed all thoughts of Maractus and Lanturn so far into the back of his mind that he didn't truthfully know whether or not he was happier as a part of Team Flame. But he wasn't about to go digging up painful memories just for the sake of an honest answer to a simple question.

"No doubt about it!" he said brightly. "This team is second to none! And someday, our greatness will be too much for Chatot to ignore!"

"You've got _that_ right!" Bellsprout agreed, his eyes shining.

Camerupt chuckled. "Sure, _someday _we'll be great and all that, but for now we're taking requests until another expedition opportunity crops up."

Bellsprout laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh, right, I totally forgot about that. We should start looking into the places the note said the Water Float might've gotten lost in." He pulled the job request from his bag and began to unfold it before pausing to look up and ask, "Wait, why were we going towards town, again?"

Once Camerupt had joined Bellsprout in looking questioningly at Sir Majestic Tail, the ponyta simply replied, "What, you thought I was just making excuses when I said we were low on reviver seeds?"

The lack of a response from either Bellsprout or Camerupt was telling. Sir Majestic Tail sniffed and raised his nose.

"You think of me as one who makes up lies just to get out of mildly unpleasant situations? For shame!" He turned and continued to walk in the direction of Treasure Town, head still held high. "Here I am, so selflessly praising and defending this team, and this is the thanks I get! Why, if I didn't know any better I'd think you - oof!"

On account of being too busy acting haughty, Sir Majestic Tail hadn't been watching where he was going and had bumped into someone who was walking in the opposite direction. He recoiled and took a step back. Fortunately, it seemed that neither he nor the drowzee he had collided with were hurt.

"My apologies!" Sir Majestic Tail said. "Though really, you should have been watching where you were going, a mite irresponsible of you, don't you think?"

Camerupt winced and stepped up next to Sir Majestic Tail. "Sorry about Ponyta here. Are you alright?"

"Don't you worry, I'm unhurt," Drowzee responded, smiling mildly. Two small pokémon peeked out from behind him and waved.

"Hiya, Sir Majestic Tail!" called out one, a marill.

The other, an azurill, added, "And Camerupt and Bellsprout, too! Good morning!"

Sir Majestic Tail immediately forgot about the entire episode with Chatot and gave the two pokémon a pleasant smile. "I didn't see you there! Good morning to you, too, boys!"

"What a coincidence running into you guys!" Bellsprout held up the piece of paper bearing the request from the brothers. "We just saw the note about your missing item and were about to set out to look for it!"

Azurill looked a little embarrassed. "That's really nice of you, misters, but mister Drowzee's already gonna take us to find it!"

"We've been asking around town to see if anyone might have any idea about where it went," Marill explained, "and mister Drowzee here says he's seen it, so he said he could bring us to it!"

"He did, now did he?" Sir Majestic Tail asked, his voice strained. If Drowzee was stealing this job from Team Flame, that meant they'd have to go back to the guild to pick another one. The last thing he wanted was to have a potential second run-in with Chatot. "By any chance, you wouldn't happen to require assistance with that at all, would you?"

Drowzee shook his head slowly. "No, I think I will be alright escorting these two on my own."

Nudging Sir Majestic Tail lightly in warning, Camerupt said, "We really appreciate that you're doing this for them. Not all pokémon would go the extra mile like this."

Drowzee gave him a half-lidded smile. "I wouldn't just let these poor kids go without their precious Water Float if I knew where it was, now, would I?"

Bellsprout, however, didn't seem quite as impressed. "Hang on, where did you say you saw it?"

"Atop Mount Bristle," Drowzee responded evenly.

"And how did you boys lose it?" Bellsprout asked, turning to the brothers and crossing his arms.

Marill took a moment to think, then replied, "Well, we had it in my bag two days ago when I was going into Treasure Town to buy some apples, and when we got home, it wasn't there anymore. It musta fell out."

"Then how did it end up on Mount Bristle?"

If the probing fazed Drowzee, he didn't show it. "It's obvious, isn't it?" he said. "Evidently, some petty thief picked it up and took it with them when they went to Mount Bristle. That's how it would have gotten there."

Bellsprout opened his mouth to protest, but Sir Majestic Tail was quick to interrupt, "Of course, of course, that makes perfect sense! Our apologies, sir, we didn't intend to accuse you of anything!"

Drowzee shook his head. "No offence taken." He smiled lazily to the brothers. "Come on, let's head out now so we can be back before dark."

"Okay!" Azurill replied, bouncing in excitement. "Bye, Team Flame!" Drowzee stepped past the exploration team and led the brothers down the path towards the crossroads.

Once they were out of earshot, Sir Majestic Tail snapped, "Now what in Arceus's name was _that_ about, Bellsprout?! What possessed you to interrogate that very generous gentleman like he was some petty criminal?"

"We were about to take that job ourselves," Camerupt added. "What's so suspicious about wanting to help some kids out?"

Bellsprout shook his head. "Drowzee's story just doesn't add up. A Water Float's a pretty rare item, right? Why would a thief take it all the way up a mountain and leave it there? And if Drowzee really _did_ see it, why wouldn't he take it for himself? Even if he didn't know about the job request, that item would fetch a good sum at the shop or get you some rare items in the swaps. Any adventurer would be crazy to pass it by!"

Sir Majestic Tail was about to protest, but he found nothing to protest against. What Bellsprout said made sense to him. Besides, what kind of honest pokémon 'accidentally' bumps into a flaming horse the same size as them?! It should have been evident from the start!

"You're right!" Sir Majestic Tail said. "Of course, I had a hunch that he was trouble, but your reasoning about confirms it!" He paced back and forth, this time not angry enough to start up any small fires by doing so. "But if he isn't leading the marill brothers to their lost item, what could he possibly want them for?"

Bellsprout looked uncertain. "I, uh...don't know."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Camerupt asked, turning and facing the direction Drowzee and the brothers had gone. "Let's tail them and see what he's up to."

Bellsprout and Sir Majestic Tail nodded their agreement and the trio headed towards Mount Bristle.

ooooo

Trying to shade someone undetected within a mystery dungeon was no easy feat. The moment any pokémon, regardless of their skill or experience level, entered a dungeon, they were by default lost. To follow someone without being caught was to traverse the floor like you were more lost than usual, but not so lost that you couldn't keep up with your target's movements, and to attract the attention of as few feral pokémon as possible so as to not draw attention to yourself and give away your location.

The feral pokémon residing on Mount Bristle weren't particularly tough, but they were restless and wouldn't hesitate to approach Team Flame to begin raucous and unnecessary battles. It only took a well-placed stomp attack or a quick blast of flame to ward them off and with three pokémon working together, fights ended just as quickly as they started. Still, the feral encounters held the team back, and glimpses of Drowzee and the brothers became less and less common as they ascended higher up the mountain.

Sir Majestic Tail didn't mind Mount Bristle as much as he did other mountainous dungeons. Unlike many other mountains in the region, this one was more rocky than muddy, lessening his odds of exiting the dungeon a filthy wreck, and his hooves were too strong to be chipped or damaged by the stones. A small part of him felt guilt for being concerned about getting dirty when two young pokémon could be in danger, but the greater part of him reasoned that appearances were no small concern and that the fear of having to spend hours bathing afterwards just to remove all the grit was a valid one.

"Ugh, blast these rotten ferals," he muttered to himself as he kicked an approaching spinarak with a foreleg. The weaker pokémon was instantly knocked out by the attack. "Can't they see we don't have time to deal with them? Lousy rotten - "

"Shh, wait a second," whispered Bellsprout suddenly, "do you hear that?"

Sir Majestic Tail paused and strained to listen to whatever Bellsprout had picked up on. Faintly, he could hear voices coming from somewhere on the dungeon floor. One voice was high-pitched and sounded frightened.

"That must be them!" Bellsprout said. "Let's get in there and - "

"Wait!" Camerupt hissed. "If we just run in, we might not catch Drowzee in the act of actually doing anything wrong. Let's move a little closer so we can hear what's going on."

They began to cautiously approach the source of the voices but halted when they heard a cry of pain. Exchanging panicked looks, the three broke into a run, caution thrown to the wind.

However, it looked like they were too late. They found Marill alone on the ground, paws held over a cut on his head.

"Marill!" Bellsprout exclaimed, coming up to his side. "What happened?! Where are your brother and Drowzee?!"

"Muh-mister Drowzee s-said we were - we were getting close and - " He was barely able to stammer out the words through his tears. "A-and then he - he - "

Bellsprout protectively wrapped a vine around his shoulders and said, "Hey, don't worry, we've got you now. We'll make sure your brother gets out safe." He looked up at Sir Majestic Tail and Camerupt, his expression urgent. "I'm going to take Marill out of the dungeon now. You guys, go after Drowzee!"

"Right!" the two fire-types affirmed. Bellsprout pulled his explorer badge from his bag and teleported away with Marill.

Camerupt turned to Sir Majestic Tail and instructed, "Get out there and cut him off and I'll bring up the rear!"

Sir Majestic Tail gave a curt nod and immediately galloped away after Drowzee. Within seconds, he was racing nearly at top speed, wind rushing past his head. His hooves scarcely touched the ground as he deftly swerved down rocky pathways, scanning the dungeon for a glimpse of yellow and blue.

Within a few seconds, he spotted Drowzee's retreating figure holding Azurill tightly in his arms. Smirking, Sir Majestic Tail put on an extra burst of speed. Just because this spying mission had turned into a genuine rescue mission didn't mean he couldn't show off a little bit. Once he had gotten close enough to Drowzee, he sprang up and leapt right over his head, landing cleanly several yards in front of him and smoothly turning sideways to block his path.

Drowzee let out a yelp of alarm and scrabbled desperately in an attempt to come to a halt to avoid colliding with Sir Majestic Tail. It didn't seem to work as he intended and he slipped and fell on his back, bringing Azurill down with him. Crying out, Azurill tried to struggle his way out of Drowzee's arms, but the larger pokémon's grip was ironclad.

"You release that boy this instant!" Sir Majestic Tail shouted, standing tall over Drowzee and leering down with the most intimidating expression he could muster. "Or there will be dire, dire consequences!"

"I'm not hurting him or anything!" Drowzee protested, eyes wide. "I just need him for one thing and then I'll let him go!"

Sir Majestic Tail's eyes blazed. He slammed a hoof down with enough force to crack the rock beneath it, narrowly avoiding Drowzee's legs. "You'll let him go immediately, you miserable, filthy, despicable waste of air!"

It was satisfying to see Drowzee's expression of terror, but it only lasted a moment as he got up and tried to run away, still not letting go of Azurill. Fortunately, he had been stalled long enough for Camerupt to catch up to them. The stockier pokémon effectively blocked Drowzee's only escape route and his volcanic humps were already spewing steam and sputtering flecks of lava.

Drowzee's head whipped back and forth as he considered his options, then he finally dropped Azurill and put his hands up in surrender. Azurill didn't hesitate to scramble away and hide behind Sir Majestic Tail's legs, trembling.

"Not to worry, Azurill, you're safe now," Sir Majestic Tail said to him, but his gaze remained fixed on Drowzee. "Now, then, I believe it's high time for _you _to face your judgement."

Drowzee glared at him defiantly, but made no move to escape. The chase was over.

ooooo

It was late afternoon when Officer Magnezone and his two magnemite deputies arrived at the crossroads to apprehend Drowzee. Dark clouds had begun to roll over the sky once more, and Sir Majestic Tail could practically smell the rain in the forecast. Bellsprout had decided to truss Drowzee up in sturdy vines until the law enforcement showed up. While Drowzee initially made attempts to explain that he really hadn't meant the brothers any harm, that he'd just needed Azurill to grab a treasure out of a small crack at the top of the mountain, none of the Team Flame members paid him any attention and he was eventually forced to give up.

"We thank you for your efforts in capturing Drowzee!" Magnezone said to Team Flame, his voice monotone and metallic in sound. The magnemites floated on either side of Drowzee, each keeping an eye trained on him. "If not for the three of you, who knows how long it would have taken to find him and bring him in."

"Just doing our job as an exploration team, officer!" Bellsprout said, saluting Magnezone. "We sensed this guy was trouble, so we decided to investigate."

"You have done good work here today!" Magnezone went on. "For your efforts, we would like to offer you five thousand Poké!"

Sir Majestic Tail would have been happy to accept the reward, but he got the feeling Bellsprout and Camerupt wouldn't want to take it, so he stood silently and tried to look more proud than sullen.

"Thanks, officer, but we can't accept it." Bellsprout smiled. "Knowing that the brothers are safe is the only reward we need!"

Magnezone almost sounded impressed as he said, "Most honourable of you! Marill and Azurill's injuries have been treated and they have been returned home. We thank you again and hope you will continue to apprehend dangerous criminals!"

He and the magnemites turned away and escorted the bound Drowzee away. Once they were gone, Sir Majestic Tail turned to his leader and cleared his throat.

"I apologize for doubting you, Bellsprout," he said. "The two of us should have trusted your assessment. Then we never would have put the marill brothers in danger in the first place."

Camerupt grunted, nodding in agreement. "You're a better judge of character than even a seasoned explorer like myself. You're pretty amazing, you know that, kid?"

Bellsprout blushed from the praise. "Aw, c'mon, it wasn't all that. It was just a little bit of detective work, that's all." His expression fell. "But it's disappointing that Drowzee wasn't doing something good for those kids after all. With time getting more and more out of alignment, more pokémon are choosing to do bad things. It feels like genuinely good people are getting harder and harder to find."

"It's atrocious, simply atrocious!" Sir Majestic Tail agreed. "Give it another moon or two and we'll be walking among ferals! Not that we aren't practically there already - so many pokémon are already painfully unintelligent. Add in a little senseless aggression and call Treasure Town a mystery dungeon and voila!"

"That's a little harsh, don'tcha think?" Bellsprout asked, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, not _all_ ferals are stupid and aggressive. I bet they're just that way because they live in such awful places."

"Or perhaps those places are awful _because_ of the ferals?" Sir Majestic Tail countered.

Gently tapping Sir Majestic Tail's side with a hoof, Camerupt said, "Why don't we argue about this pointless topic once we're at the base instead? I want to get back before - "

"Don't touch my perfect coat with your _filthy_, filthy hooves!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed, jumping out of range of said hooves. "Great Arceus, you could have gotten _mud_ on my fur!"

Camerupt rolled his eyes. "Please, we just came from a mountain, you're not exactly spick-and-span yourself. But if you're so concerned about that, it looks like it's gonna start raining any minute now." He turned and began walking in the direction of the base. "If we dawdle enough, you can get a full shower on the way."

"Eugh." Sir Majestic Tail shuddered. "I'd rather endure the filth than risk having my luxurious tail put out again! Let's be on our way!"

With that decided, the three headed right past the crossroads towards the promise of shelter. Far above, the clouds rumbled menacingly, threatening another storm to rival the last, but Team Flame wasn't going to stick around for it this time.

* * *

**By now, you can probably figure out how this fic's gonna work. We'll be cycling through the four characters chapter-by-chapter so you'll get to see life from each of their viewpoints. Will they ever meet? Will I really be able to keep this up for the whole story? Guess we'll have to find out together!**

**Be sure to leave a review if you liked it! Also, be sure to leave a review if you loathed it! Make it spicy. Make me hurt.**


	6. Chapter 6: Mareep

**Y'know, I almost forgot to upload this. I've only just started this fic, and already I'm starting to slack? Say it isn't so!**

**All that matters is that I _didn't_ forget. So here's this chapter, the last short one for at least a good while.**

* * *

The sky was being as stingy with its lightning as the Amp Plains were being with its explorers. No matter how hard she searched, the mareep couldn't find a single explorer to steal from. Her legs were getting tired from all the running around she was doing, but her search was fruitless.

She sat down in a huff. Nothing was fun here anymore. When she was younger, she and the younger members of her flock would play together and fill the days with mindless entertainment. Now they were all grown up, as was she, and nobody played. What was there to do in a stormy field full of charred grass?

The answer was jack-diddly-squat.

Annoyed with the world, the mareep rolled around on the ground in an attempt to let out her frustration. As she did so, however, she felt something fall out of the tangles of her fleece and she paused to inspect it. Ah, right, it was that shiny thing, her little treasure that she had nabbed from an explorer a few days ago. She prodded it with a hoof to see if it would do anything, but nothing happened.

An idea came to her and she picked it up in her mouth. She trotted towards her flock, most of whom were grazing or standing guard for enemies. To an outsider, they may have all looked the same, but the mareep could tell them apart easily by the different patterns of blue, cream, and occasionally pink colouration their mottled fur and wool sported. Not that it mattered, they all sucked, anyways.

Nobody took note of her as she rejoined their ranks, but she didn't care. Conversing with them was like pulling teeth and she was grateful none were in the mood to put her through that. Besides, it was the elder ampharos who sat sagely near the centre of the group whom she was interested in. His patchy pink-and-yellow fur was faded and his striped horns curled around to frame his wizened face. As the mareep approached, he turned his clouded eyes on her, tightening his grip on the long wooden stick he always carried around. The mareep could tell he was already thinking of how to placate her this time.

Regardless, she stopped right in front of him and set down the metallic object for him to see. He blinked slowly at her, then looked down at it.

"Hey," she said. "What is this."

Now some of the flock looked at her accusingly, as if her use of language had absolutely ruined their day. Those members of the flock looked angrily at each other to confirm they all were equally irritated about this, then went straight back to eating dead grass.

The elder lightly tapped the object with his stick, then met the mareep's eyes.

"Tell me, dear...where did you find this?"

His voice was soft and weak and hard to make out, but damn, at least he didn't abhor the act of speaking.

"An explorer dropped it," the mareep replied. The elder hummed, tracing its outline with the stick.

"Then it comes from outside," he finally said. "It is of no use to you."

"Why not?" she demanded, her wool fluffing up in anger. "Just because I can't eat it, it means it's pointless?"

Thunder growled in the distance. The storm was approaching Amp Plains, and the mareep liked how it sounded like it was agreeing with her. The elder frowned at the mareep and gave a tired sigh.

"We cannot hope to know its purpose. Unless you somehow learned what it is for, it is, indeed, pointless."

The mareep paced back and forth, frustrated, then paused. "Well...what if it doesn't have to be _for_ anything? What if I say it's mine, and I like it, and that's all that matters?"

More of the flock were now taking note of the rogue mareep harassing the eldest and most respected member of the flock with those hideous, awful _words_, and a chorus of angry bleats rose up from the group. The mareep ignored them, narrowed eyes turned on the elder.

He remained placid and placed the end of his stick over the object to draw it away from the mareep. Noticing this, she quickly slapped the stick out of the way and pulled the object closer to herself, growling protectively.

"Please, mareep, why don't you settle down?" the elder pleaded, milky eyes trained on her. "There is no need to make a fuss."

"Well, I think there _is_!" the mareep shot back. Lightning flashed somewhere nearby and thunder rumbled shortly after. It was so cool and dramatic, she thought. It was the literal perfect storm, her sign that lashing out like this was what was right.

"You know what, I'm _done_ with this shitty place!" she yelled, loud enough that everyone could hear it. The crowd protested furiously, but she wasn't finished. She whirled on them, eyes glimmering excitedly. "I'm _done_ with all of _you_! How can you just sit around and do nothing but eat and shit and fight and sleep?! Has anyone even tried to _leave_ these plains?!"

The storm rumbled its approval, but the flock weren't so impressed. They moved in on her, uttering sharp bleats and a few choice spoken insults. The mareep wasn't scared, however. She felt, for the first time in her life, _liberated_.

"And maybe I don't just want to be some random mareep!" she continued, her voice rising in pitch as the storm drew closer still. "Maybe I want a name, like a real name! What're you gonna do about it, huh? Nibble me to death? Bonk me with your horns a few times?"

She picked up the object in her teeth and bounced up onto a tall rock overlooking the group before setting the treasure down again. "Fuck all of you! I'm done with living this life! I'm going to escape this place, and then I'll - I'll - " The mareep looked down at the object, the symbol of life outside her home, of freedom, of exploration…

"And I'll become an _explorer_!"

The rage of the flock rose to a fever pitch as she uttered that horrible, taboo word, and the mareep could see the elder staring up at her with a distant, sad look in his eyes, but she didn't hear them anymore. She only heard the wind howling around her, the increasingly loud thundering of the storm, and the sound of her own triumphant voice.

"That's right!" she bleated, pressing a hoof against her treasure. "I'll come back here with some other stupid explorers and then you'll have no choice but to attack me because I'll be a nasty evil explorer! And you know what? I'll be so strong that I'll beat all of you!" A bolt of lightning crashed down dangerously nearby, and the mareep felt a little insulted that it hadn't chosen to strike her instead. That would've looked _so cool_.

"Or maybe I'll leave here and never come back! You'll never see me again and you'll never miss me!" She grinned widely, staring down at the infuriated herd. "You hear me, world?! I'm leaving!"

Suddenly, the object beneath her hoof began to glow with a pale blue light. The mareep looked down at it in surprise and within seconds became engulfed in the light herself.

For a moment, she couldn't move or breathe or cry out.

Then she hit the ground.

She quickly hopped back up to her hooves and looked around. What just happened? Had she fallen off the rock? However, her surroundings were completely unfamiliar to her. Behind her were more plains, but ahead of her were strange, fluffy-looking green trees standing around in tight formation. Dark clouds still covered the sky, but the storm was far behind her now.

The mareep stood stock-still for a long while, clueless as to what had just transpired. Then she noticed the metallic object lying on the dirt by her hooves and she broke into a grin. She had figured out what it was for.

Giddy, she pranced around in a circle. She had done it! At last, she was out of the plains! No more flock, no more stupid nasty grass, and no more lame elder who didn't know shit! She could do whatever she wanted now, and she already had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to be.

She picked up her treasure then tossed it onto her back. Its slight weight, cushioned by her wool, was comforting to her. She had rightfully earned this item and it had freed her from the prison she'd only recently realized she was in. Now she would never part with it.

The mareep turned her head back towards the leafy trees. Though they were imposing and close together, she could clearly see a path through them. Without hesitation, she trotted forwards and started down the path. The trees seemed to close in around her and there were strange smells and sounds all around, but it was all new and exciting and she loved it.

This was it. She was really going to go out and become a real explorer. Hell, she had no idea how to make it official to the civilized world that she was anything more than a rogue mareep, but she'd figure it out somehow. The first step, she decided, was to choose a real name for herself. After all, who would take 'the mareep' seriously? She looked back at her wool and where her treasure lay nestled deep within it, and a brilliant name came to her.

"I think 'Fluffy' would be a great name for an explorer," she said aloud to herself, then smiled. "Yeah. Fluffy. That's my name."

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**The sheep is on the loose! Rest assured, this isn't the last we'll see of the flock.**

**Review if you had any feelings about this chapter of any sort! Or don't! No pressure!**


	7. Chapter 7: Cyndaquil

**Before we begin, shoutout to Miner7365 for the absolutely stellar review! Like, wow. That's the good fuel that keeps this story train rollin'! Reviews give me life, and also much-needed advice and critiques. The audience has spoken - from now on, Zubat's accent shan't contain an abundance of unreadable nonsense! If you have any more critiques, including the nittiest of nitpicks, feel free to dump them in that review box and keep fueling the train.**

**Anywho, here's your weekly dose of chapter!**

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"UP AN' AT 'EM! IT'S MORNING!"

Flame put her paws over her ears and rolled over on her bed. There was no way she'd ever get used to that wakeup call.

"Come ON, Flame, you don't want to be LATE for the morning address AGAIN, do you?"

Groaning, Flame staggered to her feet. Her ears were still ringing from the sound of her guildmate's voice, but he had a point. If she didn't get out there, Chatot would surely be mad at her.

"I know, I know," she mumbled. "Thanks, Loudred."

Loudred leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed for a moment, looking doubtful, then shrugged and turned and walked out into the hall. Flame rubbed the sleep from her eyes before walking over to the window and looking outside. There had been another severe storm a few nights ago, but the sky was by now clear of clouds. That had been a miserable night for Flame - stuck in the only one-person dorm room at the guild, she'd had to huddle in the lone straw bed, trembling as lightning bolt after lightning bolt lit up the sky. She was never a huge fan of thunderstorms, and being completely alone during them made them even worse.

Remembering Loudred's warning, she quickly grabbed her explorer bag and slung it over her shoulder, then scurried out of the room and down the hall to get to the crew room. All the other guild members were already lined up for the morning address and Chatot was standing in the front, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Late again, Flame!" he snapped, flapping his wings in irritation. "I have half a mind to start the morning addresses without you if you're going to be so nonchalant about whether or not you actually show up!"

"S-sorry," she mumbled, quickly taking her place in the group next to Bidoof. He caught her eye and shot her a sympathetic smile. Chatot cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and Flame snapped her head back up to look at him.

"Before we begin, I have an important piece of news to share with you all." He looked them over, his expression stern. "As you are all very well aware, time hasn't been properly aligned for the past while. This has resulted in an increase in crimes and terrible misdeeds. Is everyone following?"

There was collective nodding and some concerned murmurs. Prefacing an announcement by reminding them of this wasn't a good sign.

"Of all the crimes that could be committed," Chatot continued, his voice becoming grave, "the most unthinkable has occurred three nights ago. Someone has stolen a Time Gear."

The reaction of the guild members was instantaneous. There were gasps and cries of "No way!" and "That can't be possible!" Flame herself was stunned into silence, unable to believe the news.

"Who in their RIGHT MIND would DO that?!" Loudred demanded. "That's like playing GOD!"

"Hey hey hey!" piped up another member, Corphish. "Maybe the thief is holding it for ransom!"

"But, like, who's supposed to pay that ransom?" One of the guild's senior members, Sunflora, fanned her face dramatically. "Oh, it's so awful I can't stand to think about it! Eek!"

"Don't TALK like that!" snapped Loudred. "Of COURSE not!"

"Settle down, everyone!" Chatot had to yell to get everyone's attention and even when the members quieted down, there was still nervous whispering among the pokémon. "The thief's identity and motives are as of yet unknown, but rest assured Officer Magnezone is on the case. I'm certain he'll have it sorted out in no time!"

The guild members fell into an uneasy silence. This wasn't particularly reassuring information; while Officer Magnezone was known to be good at arresting criminals, he didn't do much of a good job of hunting them down. That was why the outlaw notice board was always full of job requests.

"Golly, this is awfully hard to take in," Bidoof said. "Aren't Time Gears supposed to keep time flowing in their area? What happens if someone takes one?"

"It's exactly as you'd expect," Chatot replied. "When one is removed, time stops in that location. Every leaf, blade of grass, and pokémon within the radius becomes frozen in time."

This time, everyone stayed silent. What Chatot was describing sounded beyond awful.

"But as I said, Officer Magnezone is hunting down the culprit as we speak." Chatot's voice went back to cheerful. "So don't you fret! That Time Gear will soon be back in place and we can forget this ever happened! Now, then, without further ado, let's begin the morning address!"

Flame wasn't convinced, but she said nothing as the doors of Guildmaster Wigglytuff's room opened and the Guildmaster emerged. Wigglytuff looked carefree as ever, and he walked to the front of the group with a spring in his step.

"Good morning, friendly friends!" he greeted as if Chatot hadn't just dropped a bombshell on the whole assembly. "Do your best today! Work hard! Eat well! Have fun! And if you're lucky, there may be a surprise announcement coming up soon, so look forward to it!"

That threw Flame for a loop. A surprise announcement? Chatot was usually the one who revealed announcements or news. Even Chatot looked taken aback by this.

"W-wait a moment, Guildmaster, you haven't told me about this announcement!" he stammered, looking hurt.

"Yes I have~!" Wigglytuff responded in a singsong voice. "Remember?"

Chatot cocked his head quizzically. "When did you…?" When Wigglytuff gave no answer and merely continued to smile vacantly, Chatot quickly changed his expression. "Oh, yes, of course! _That_ announcement! Silly me, how could I have forgotten!"

Bidoof leaned in towards Flame and whispered, "D'you reckon Chatot's just acting like he remembers it to save face?"

Flame snickered under her breath. "Probably," she whispered back.

"A-hem!" Everyone turned back to the front and Chatot continued, "Now that you know what is up, let us begin the cheer!"

In unison, the guild members chanted the rules of the Wigglytuff Guild.

"One! Don't shirk work! Two! Run away and pay! Three! Smiles go for miles!"

Satisfied with this, Chatot called out, "All right, everyone, here's to another day of work!" The group cheered before quickly dispersing as everyone went off to their respective tasks. Wigglytuff returned back to his room, presumably to stand around in there all day like he usually did.

Bidoof turned to Flame and said, "Let's go find us some good job requests again today!"

Before she could respond, however, Chatot interjected, "Actually, Flame, I have a different assignment for you today!"

She blinked, not expecting this. "What would you like me to do?"

"I'm very glad you've found a friend in Bidoof, and I can't deny that the two of you work…" Chatot searched for the right word. "..._passably_ well together, but I would like you to start attempting some jobs on your own."

"Oh." Flame bit her lip and looked at the floor. "I'm...not sure if I have the confidence to do something like that yet."

Chatot hopped over to her and laid a wing on her shoulder comfortingly. "Flame, you're a good student, and you show a lot of promise, but you need to learn to be autonomous. Explorers get separated from their teams all the time, and if you can't learn to explore dungeons and take jobs on your own, you may not be equipped to handle such a situation."

"I guess," she mumbled. Chatot had a point. Ever since she joined the guild, she'd been relying heavily on Bidoof for almost every task she took on. If she could never learn to work on her own, she'd be hooped if something happened to him!

"Good girl!" Chatot praised, removing his wing. "Now off you go!"

Flame looked back at Bidoof apologetically but he just smiled encouragingly at her. "That's alright, Flame, I can go solo for the day! Or maybe I could try to drag Croagunk out of the guild for once, yup yup!"

Croagunk, who was sitting in his own corner of the guild floor next to his mysterious 'Swap Cauldron', looked over at the mention of his name and gave Bidoof an unnerving, half lidded grin.

"O-or something," Bidoof finished, laughing uneasily. "And I'm sure you'll do fine, Flame! You're much stronger than me, anyhow!"

"That's really kind of you to say." Flame considered going in for a hug, but decided it would be too awkward and headed towards the ladder instead. "See you later, then?"

Bidoof nodded. "Yup yup! I'll see you at dinner for sure!"

Giving one final glance back at her friend, Flame reluctantly climbed the ladder and headed up to the main level. There were already a few teams there that she recognized - like Team Poochy, the poochyena trio - as well as a few of her fellow guild members selecting jobs, but at the job bulletin board was a pikachu whom she'd never seen before. The pikachu, who wore a distinctive purple bandana around her neck, didn't appear to be actively leafing through the jobs but instead merely looking them over, as if studying them. Swallowing, Flame decided to try practicing some confidence and walked over to her.

"Um, good morning!" she said as she approached. The pikachu flinched as if she'd been hit and whipped her head over to give Flame a wide-eyed stare. Flame cowered back a little. "S-sorry to startle you! I, um, just noticed that I don't think I've seen you here before, and…"

Shit shit shit, she was messing things up. The pikachu continued to stare blankly at Flame. Flame suspected her sanity was currently being assessed.

"Sorry, let me start over." Flame took in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. "My name's Flame. Nice to meet you!"

For some reason, this seemed to make the pikachu look even more confused. "You have an actual name?" she asked. "I thought everyone around here just went by their species name."

Flame was in a state of disbelief of how badly she was botching this introduction. How could everything that came out of her mouth just make her look worse? "W-well, I mean, _most_ people do, but I have a bunch of siblings, so we all got names and, um. Yeah." She had to divert attention away from herself fast before she said anything else that sounded stupid. "What about you? By the way you said that, you sort of made it sound like you _do_ have a name…"

The pikachu narrowed her eyes at Flame and didn't say anything for a moment, but then turned back to the job board and said, "I'm Julia."

That made Flame perk up a little in relief. "Julia, huh? That's a pretty exotic name, isn't it?"

Julia didn't look back at her. "...Sure."

At that point, Flame got the feeling she was just annoying the pikachu, so she quietly stepped in to check out the notice board. There were a lot of rescue requests in difficult dungeons, and she really had to search to find one that was at a more comfortable level for her. She finally settled on a lost item search request in Beach Cave. It was full of water-types, but at least the feral pokémon wouldn't be as powerful.

She was just stuffing the paper into her bag when Julia spoke up again.

"You chose the easiest job."

Flame laughed nervously. "W-well, uh, you know how it is, haha. Sometimes you just gotta take an easy assignment, leave the big tasks for someone else, y'know…"

Julia looked Flame over, her expression unreadable. "And you're a member of this guild, right?"

Something about the way Julia was talking to her was making Flame incredibly nervous. "I, uh, better head out now! Don't want to leave my client waiting, heh! I'll see you around, maybe!" Then she made a beeline for the ladder and clambered up to the exit. Her heart was pounding against her chest and she needed to take a moment to breathe before she could exit the tent. Why did she feel like she was being accused of something? Was there something wrong with having to take an easy job?

If only Chatot hadn't made her work on her own today! Then she could've tackled a tougher job with Bidoof and maybe impressed that pikachu instead of...well, whatever emotion she was feeling after Flame had made a royal embarrassment of herself.

Flame stopped her train of thought and shook her head. Why should she want to impress that pikachu, anyways? She didn't even know her. No, she shouldn't be worried about what a stranger thought of her. She had to be independent and confident in herself!

Flame had just pushed Julia from her mind and was about to head out when the pikachu unexpectedly came out of the tent and, shooting her a sidelong look, disappeared down the stairs. Flame was suddenly struck with how weird that pokémon was, from her foreign name to her oddly quiet manner to the way she walked on her hind legs. She had to resist the urge to follow her and instead waited a few more minutes before walking down the steps herself.

Okay, so what if this day was off to a bad start? That didn't mean it had to end badly. All Flame had to do was go into the cave, find the lost item, and come back to the guild. Chatot would see she was able to take care of herself and then he'd let her work with Bidoof again. It would be a quick assignment in a small dungeon - in and out, and it was done. Maybe she'd even have enough time to do another mission with Bidoof today if she hurried. With that thought in mind, she scurried off in the direction of the beach.

There were a few krabbies sunning themselves on the rocks, but Flame knew they wouldn't be blowing their bubbles until the evening. Still, the view from the beach was a lovely one, and Flame took a moment to gaze out over the sea. Though she knew she'd never have the guts to travel across the sea, it was fun to fantasize about what was out there.

After she had rested for a bit, she double-checked her bag to make sure she had everything she needed. Along with the note were a couple of orbs, some berries, a bit of Poké, her exploration badge and wonder map, and, buried deep at the bottom of the bag, her personal treasure. She smiled slightly and closed the bag back up. She didn't exactly _need_ to take that with her everywhere, but it made her feel better to bring it along. Feeling fully refreshed and ready to go, she crossed the remainder of the beach and entered the open cave formed in the jutting-out rocks.

Flame had been in Beach Cave many times, but she couldn't get used to the slimy, damp feel it had. Pools of saltwater were collected all over the floor, and water dripped constantly from the ceiling. The only selling point was how weak the wild pokémon in here were. The shellos and kabutos could barely withstand a single scratch, so it was pretty fast going. She made sure to thoroughly sweep the halls for any sign of the item, but by the looks of it, it must have been a bit farther in.

She was distracted from her search by the sudden sound of flapping wings. She stopped in her tracks and looked around, but there was nobody there. A chill went down Flame's spine. She was certain she'd heard something out of the ordinary.

Unnerved, she continued onward, more cautiously this time. Now that she was paying attention, she was getting the very distinct sense that she was being followed, and she could hear the sounds of non-native pokémon shuffling about in the tunnels.

"H-hey, if there's someone else here, you might as well show yourself," she called, her voice coming out in a timid squeak. When nothing happened, she tried again, "I know you're in here, I can hear you! Come out here!"

Several tense seconds passed. Flame held her breath, her paws clenched into fists. Finally, her pursuer stepped out of their cover behind a large boulder and Flame let out another squeak of surprise.

"J-Julia?!"

"Ey, listen to 'em, 'e's talkin' gibberish!"

Flame whirled around to see two more pokémon had emerged on her other side - a zubat and a koffing.

"What is this?" Flame demanded, trembling. "What's going on?"

Julia had an even expression on her face as she approached the cyndaquil. "Hand over your bag."

"M-my what? No!" Flame hugged the bag closer to herself for protection. "Back off! If you attack me, you'll have to answer to the guild!"

"Sorry, missy," Koffing said, sneering, "but we answer to nobody, see?"

Flame was badly outnumbered, and those three were closing in on her. She had to get out of there right away. But just as she started to rifle through her bag to look for her explorer badge, Julia shot forwards faster than Flame imagined possible and tore the bag from Flame's paws.

"No!" Flame cried out. The flames on her back sputtered to life and she shot an ember attack at the pikachu in retaliation. The attack hit and Julia staggered backwards, seemingly surprised that Flame had fought back, but then she immediately countered with an attack of her own, a blast of lightning. While it was a pretty strong attack, it wasn't anywhere near enough to seriously hurt Flame. Her fight or flight instincts were activated, but she was surrounded and outnumbered. Shaking, she dropped to her paws, immobilized by indecision and fear.

"Heh, wouldja lookit that!" Zubat snickered. "'E ain't so tough, is 'e? Only took one hit to take 'em down!"

"I knew Pikachu's strong, but this is just sad," Koffing added, joining in on the laughter. Julia seemed to ignore them, simply looking through Flame's bag and pulling out a few items.

"S-stop it...please…" Flame begged, her voice wavering. That seemed to snap Julia out of her action and she set down the bag to walk right up to Flame, looming over her. The dimness of the cave, combined with her violet scarf, seemed to take the warm yellow tone out of the pikachu's fur. It was like staring up at a shadow.

"You don't like feeling hurt and alone in a dungeon, do you?" Julia's gaze was piercing. "I wonder if all those pokémon who put up rescue requests feel the same way."

Flame opened her eyes a little wider and tears began to gather at the corners. "It's not like that! I swear, it was just because this one time - "

"Ey, Koffing, take a lookit this!" Zubat had started rifling through Flame's bag when Julia dropped it and he now pulled out a small piece of rock with his wing. "Whaddaya make of it?"

Koffing floated over to inspect it. "Looks like junk to me."

"N-no, not that…!" Flame tried to push herself onto her feet, but she was shaking too badly and collapsed again. "Th-that's my...relic fragment...my treasure…"

Turning away from her, Julia also walked over to where Zubat was and looked the rock over. As Flame knew well from countless hours spent gazing at it in awe, one side was completely flat with a bizarre, unique symbol inscribed on its surface. Beyond that, it had no value other than personal value. If those crooks took it from her - !

"You call this your 'treasure'?" Julia asked. Flame nodded weakly, sniffling. Julia ran a paw over the rock's patterned surface, then carefully placed it back into the bag. She picked up the sack and, to Flame's confusion, dropped it right in front of Flame. Julia gave her another long look, then turned back to her two companions. "We got what we came for. Let's get out of here."

"That's whatchu get for bein' a _wimp_!" Zubat jeered at Flame.

"Oh, but if ya hurry, maybe you can still get your poor, poor client their tragically lost item back!" Satisfied with his jab, Koffing turned away, guffawing. The three aggressors vanished deeper into the cave, leaving Flame alone, trembling, on the cold wet floor.

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"Excellent work, Flame!"

Chatot stood before the little cyndaquil, a pleased smile on his face. It had been late in the day when Flame returned to the guild, lost item in hand. Even after all she'd been through, she still somehow managed to complete the job before trudging back to the guild. She couldn't risk Chatot getting mad at her for failing such a simple mission and potentially making her go out on her own again.

"See, I told you you were capable of going out solo!" Though his voice was cheerful, his expression still looked somewhat strained. Flame could guess why. "Of course, you _did_ take a rather simple errand, but it's no matter! A job well done is a job well done!"

Flame could barely muster up the will to smile back. Yes, she'd completed it, but she had been attacked, mugged, and humiliated in the process. It didn't feel like a victory.

Chatot cocked his head, eyeing her curiously. "What's the matter, Flame? You seem rather quiet."

"O-oh!" Flame snapped out of her stupor. "N-no, it's nothing, I just…" She wanted to tell him about what happened, but what if he was ashamed of her for not being able to fight back? "It's nothing, I'm just thinking about dinner," she finished, forcing a tight smile. That answer seemed to satisfy Chatot.

"Well, you won't have to wait long! Chimecho should be ringing the dinner bell any time now!" Chatot waved her away with a wing. "Now, off you go! You'll be resuming regular missions with Bidoof tomorrow!"

Mumbling a thanks over her shoulder, Flame shuffled off, looking around the guild for her friend. She didn't want to be alone right now.

"There you are, Flame!" Bidoof was climbing down the ladder into the crew room and he scurried over to her right away. "How did your day go? I know I missed you today! It's just not as fun doing missions without you!"

Flame put on a very fake smile. "It went great."

Bidoof came up close by her side, beaming. "Golly, that's good to hear! I was so worried about whether you'd be alright on your own, but you really pulled through!"

His fluffy fur brushed against Flame's face, tickling her slightly. Her expression relaxed into a less tense smile. The encounter with Julia and her two friends had been awful, but it was true that Flame had pulled through and completed the job request despite everything, and now that she'd proved herself she could go back to doing missions with her friend.

"Thanks, Bidoof," she said, leaning slightly towards him. Bidoof's face went beet-red.

"O-oh, you're w-welcome, but what for?" he stammered.

Sensing his embarrassment, Flame moved away to give the poor guy some space. "Just for being my friend and being there for me," she replied. "I really appreciate that."

"Shucks," he said, ducking his head, "it's nothin', Flame. I'm just happy to be your friend!"

As Chatot had predicted, the dinner bell rang out a moment later and everyone piled into the mess hall for dinner. Flame sat at her usual spot next to Bidoof at the long table, tucking into the delicious mix of vegetables and savoury berries on her plate. Chimecho was a stellar cook and Flame would be crazy to pass up her dinner, even if she did feel a residual tightness in her stomach after the day she'd had.

After dinner, the guild members wandered away into their dorm rooms; Sunflora and Chimecho moved into their room on the left side of the hall; Loudred, Corphish, Diglett, and Bidoof into their shared room on the right; It was a pity the girls' room was too small for Flame to join, but there were worse rooms to be stuck with. She gave Bidoof a quick hug goodnight, leading to even more embarrassment on his end and a teasing "Ooooooh!" from Loudred, then headed into her solo room at the end of the hall.

Now that she was on her own, she pulled off her bag and inspected it to see how much had been taken from her. All of her oran berries had been nabbed, as well as her two sleep seeds and a luminous orb. Her Poké from before the mission, too, was gone. It was a pretty sore loss, but Flame had enough money stored at the Duskull Bank that she could buy a couple of oran berries from the kecleon brothers before her next outing.

As she looked through her bag, her gaze landed on the little rock sitting at the bottom. She carefully pulled it out and looked it over under the moonlight streaming through her window. Not a scratch on its patterned surface. Julia really had put it back into the bag without damaging it.

Flame clutched the stone to her chest protectively and sighed. At least her relic fragment was safe. It was strange, though. If Julia had really wanted to hurt or get back at Flame, or whatever she was doing, why hadn't she taken the relic fragment? And for that matter, what _was_ her deal? She acted like she was superior for beating up an explorer for taking 'the easiest job', but she somehow didn't really strike Flame as acting like a typical pokémon corrupted by time going out of whack.

Well, whatever. Flame put the stone back into her bag, then lay down on her bed, looking through the window at the stars. Tomorrow, Wigglytuff would make his surprise announcement, whatever _that_ would turn out to be. Flame could just be excited for that and put this whole day behind her and out of her memory. Turning onto her side, she closed her eyes and drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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**Hopefully I'll be able to keep up my once-a-week upload schedule throughout the summer and once I start school in the fall. Ah, if only my weak mind would do some pushups so I could upload more than once a week. But if y'all ever get too much time on your hands, there's always Embers of the Past for you to read. Just, uh, stick to the even-numbered chapters. There are some regrets in those odd-numbered chapters. Besides, all the good characters are in the even chapters.**


	8. Chapter 8: Pikachu

**I'm uploading this pretty late at night and I didn't get much of a chance to look it over for errors, so sorry in advance if this turns out to be an unreadable piece of garbage! To tell you the truth, large chunks of this chapter (and the previous ones) come from an earlier draft of this fic that I had to scrap for...reasons. Not all of it was unusable, though, so I've salvaged as much as possible. It's made writing new chapters go much faster, but obviously it also means mistakes are bound to come up. Lemme know if you see anything wrong and I'll be sure to forget to correct it!**

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The sun was low in the sky as Julia crouched in a bed of reeds, watching and waiting. Hidden among the leaves of a nearby tree were Zubat and Koffing. Julia could distinctly pick up on the sounds of them whispering to each other, but it didn't worry her. The wide, bubbling river that ran through the trees would mask their chatter from their targets' ears.

A pair of shadows stretched across the ground in front of Julia and she folded her ears down. Just a little longer and the explorers would come into view. A little longer turned into a lot longer, however, and Julia found herself growing impatient. Come on, how long did it take to walk a few yards, anyways?

Finally, her targets came into her field of view. Slowpoke and Slakoth slunk across the marshy ground, and she could now see how much they were really dragging their feet. How they could stand to be so slow was a mystery to her, but she supposed their team name, Team Slackers, really did fit well.

Julia sent a couple of sparks in the air, her signal to her teammates. She prayed they weren't too busy chatting with each other to notice, and she gave a soft sigh of relief when the tip of a wing poked out from between the leaves and waved a little in response. They were good to go.

Quickly, Julia shot out of her hiding place and came up behind Slakoth, who brought up the rear. At the same time, a blue blur sped out of the tree and went for Slowpoke's bag, grabbing it by the strap and streaking off. In a flash, Julia had torn the strap of Slakoth's bag with her teeth and made off with it as well, ducking behind the thick trunk of the tree. She stood completely still with it, ears pricked for the sound of the explorers' reactions.

As expected, neither Slowpoke nor Slakoth commented on the fact that both of their explorer bags had suddenly and mysteriously vanished. They merely continued on their languid and ignorant way.

"Ho ho, didja see that?"

Koffing floated down from the tree and grinned down at Julia. "Those suckers didn't even notice the two o' ya! How many hours d'you reckon it'll be before they even realize their bags are gone?"

"Could be days," Julia replied, smirking slightly. "Now let's see if they actually had anything good on them."

She began to rifle through the bag, looking for valuables, and wasn't disappointed. There was a fair amount of Poké in there as well as several fancy-looking trinkets. They were pretty dusty and dingy, suggesting they'd been in here for quite a while. Julia supposed Team Slackers had been too lazy to ever bother trading them in.

"Hey, uh, you wouldna happened to see where Zubat flew off to, would ya?" Koffing asked, rising in the air a little more and looking around. Team Slackers were still in view, but they were far away enough that Julia and Koffing could be less cautious.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking." Julia pulled an apple from the bag and took a bite from it. "Can't've gone far, though."

Koffing bit his lip, wavering where he hovered. "Y'don't think he coulda fallen in the river, do you?"

Setting the apple down, Julia stood up and scanned the area. No sign of a small bat flapping around in Serenity River, but there was some rustling in a bush some ways away. Julia quietly dashed out of the cover behind the tree and hid back in the reeds, then crept towards the bush. It could just be a feral, but if it was Zubat, he might need help carrying that bag. Who knows how much years-old money was stowed in there.

"Get yer dumb face outta my face!" a voice within the bush yelled, and Julia took that as invitation to poke her head in and see what the fuss was about. A feral wooper was harassing a burdened Zubat, who was tangled in the strap of the bag he'd nabbed. He flapped about uselessly on the ground, trying to evade the blasts of water the wooper was shooting at him.

Julia dispatched the wooper with a quick spark of electricity and Zubat turned his head over to her, his expression grateful.

"Thanks for that!" he said, flashing a fanged grin. "I got all wrapped up in this stupid bag an' couldn't get that wooper to leave me alone."

"I can see that," Julia said, looking amused. "You alright?"

"Yeah, 'm good."

With a little bit of help from Julia, Zubat got himself untangled from the strap and the two carried the bag over to where Koffing was waiting. The latter immediately flew over to Zubat and circled around him to look him over.

"Hey, mate, you okay?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice. "Not hurt or nothin'?"

Zubat flustered at the attention and tried to shoo him with a wing. "Quit fussin' me, Koffing, I'm fine! But this bag's way heavy! Betcha there's somethin' good in here!"

The three opened up the bag and looked inside eagerly. The entirety of the space allowed by the bag was filled by a large and cracked bivalved shell. It was clearly of no value whatsoever.

"...So, er, it isn't covered by gold or anythin', is it?" Zubat asked hopefully.

* * *

Night had long fallen by the time the trio were crossing the beach on their way back to the cave. Zubat and Koffing brought up the front, chittering away with each other, while Julia followed more slowly behind. The spoils of their expedition were all stuffed into her bag, which bulged and sagged from all the extra weight. It wasn't really possible for Koffing or Zubat to carry some of the items in one of the bags they'd stolen, however, not that Julia really minded carrying everything. She wore the bag she'd taken from her first target, and it was holding up remarkably well.

The past week had been hectic, to say the least. Julia's new daily - or, rather, late-afternoon-to-nightly - routine had taken some getting used to, and it came with a learning curve. It wasn't quite as simple as just going into the guild, choosing a target pokémon, and sneaking into the dungeon ahead of them to lie in wait. Julia had to learn the footprint rune-based written language - which, admittedly, wasn't anywhere near as difficult as she had expected it to be - then learn to identify which explorers or teams were more likely to have a greater number of items on them and to make sure they actually carried bags, then learn how to carefully pickpocket the items from their bags - or, if their targets were exceptionally stupid and/or slow, take the entire bags - when they weren't paying attention.

The most difficult lesson, however, was learning to battle. As Zubat and Koffing had said, feral pokémon were everywhere in the dungeons. Even if Julia could outrun some, there were too many to avoid them all, and she found she had no choice but to fight. Her body had all sorts of powers and abilities that she had no idea how to use, which left her feeling kind of silly as she tried all sorts of different combinations of moves on the ferals in an attempt to get them to leave her and her partners alone. She couldn't exactly go to Zubat or Koffing for help with figuring out how to battle - for one thing, neither of them had even remotely similar body types or abilities, and for another, she was still trying to keep up the narrative that she had been a pikachu her whole life and only had a little amnesia.

Once Julia had learned how to use her powers of electricity, however, she was unstoppable, blasting all of her enemies with lightning and electrically-charged tackles. And whenever an opponent was too difficult for her to take down alone, Zubat and Koffing swooped in and assisted her. Gradually, as she learned the ropes, she was becoming more confident in her own abilities, and was starting to fall into the role of bodyguard for the other two.

Still, something about the whole situation bothered her. That encounter with the cyndaquil the other day left her feeling uneasy. For some reason, try as she might, she couldn't wipe the image of the small pokémon trembling on the floor from her mind. Distractedly, she tugged at her bandana, which she'd been given a few days after beginning work with Zubat and Koffing, and did her best to push back feelings of guilt.

"And didju see how fast I swooped in?" Zubat was saying, flying around in a wide loop demonstratively. "I'll betcha Slakoth didn't even notice me!"

"'Course I saw, I was right there, remember?" Koffing replied. "I'll admit, it _did_ look real impressive."

Zubat flitted right in front of Koffing's face, beaming. "Ya really think so? You're not just sayin' it?"

"Quit flappin' around in my face like that, wouldja? I'm just sayin' you looked kind of cool, that's all!"

"Hey, guys," Julia began, catching their attention, "I was just thinking, maybe tomorrow, what if we tried taking one of the jobs on the job boards ourselves?"

The two looked alarmed. Koffing began, "What are you - "

"I mean, we wouldn't take the reward, of course," Julia quickly added. "But I think I've gotten tough enough that we could go on one of those ourselves instead of just waiting around on the second level of a dungeon for an explorer to come along."

Koffing looked doubtful. "Yeah, well, if we do that, how are we supposed to profit in any way?"

"We wouldn't," Julia replied, flinching, "but it'd just be once every few days. We could still steal from explorers the rest of the time, but it might be nice to actually help someone out in the process."

Zubat and Koffing looked at each other, then appeared to think it over. "That kinda makes sense, but won' it look fishy if we're never takin' payment from the clients?" Zubat asked.

"Not as fishy as just going in every day and leaving without ever taking a job," Julia pointed out.

They were almost at the cave by now. Something felt different about the atmosphere, and the air seemed to smell a little differently, but Julia chalked it up to her oversensitive nose. They'd probably let some of the berries go bad.

"I guess that sounds reasonable," Koffing finally admitted. "Sure, if we go right back to payin' back those money-grubbing scoundrels, we can take a regular rescue mission or two."

That lifted a weight off Julia's chest. "Thanks! I thought it might be nice to help some pokémon out now that we're stronger!"

"Speak for yourself," Zubat said, "this sack o' gas couldn' hurt a fly even if 'e wanted!"

"Shut up!" Koffing gave Zubat a shove, but he was grinning. "You're just mad Julia had to save your ass from that wooper!"

"Why'd I be mad? The wooper _and_ the bag both were tryna kill me!"

All three came to a stop outside of the entrance of their cave. There was _definitely_ a different scent coming from inside, and it was pungent. Zubat and Koffing's playful attitudes disappeared and were replaced with worry.

"Hoo, boy," Koffing muttered. Julia looked from him to the cave and back again.

"What's wrong?"

"Smells like the boss's home," Zubat said, flapping his wings with a little less enthusiasm.

Julia's ears perked up and she looked into the dark mouth of the cave curiously. She knew very little about Zubat and Koffing's mysterious boss, only that they were one to be feared and obeyed at all costs.

"Guess we ain't got much of a choice." Koffing floated over to Julia, his expression nervous. "You just stay at the back of the group, got it? We'll try to explain things to the boss for ya."

Julia nodded, and after a few moments of hesitation, Zubat and Koffing lead the way into the cave. Inside, the odour was even stronger, a strange scent like burnt gummis and decaying fruit. It smelled vaguely familiar, however, and Julia quickly realized it was the same scent that had been lingering on the bed at the back of the cave.

"Boss?" Zubat called out timidly. "You in 'ere?"

A dark shape emerged from the stalagmite path. "So you still remember I exist, do you?" The voice was low and sickly-sweet, like honey if it could somehow go foul, and it sounded _powerful_. Julia suspected that, when raised in volume, that voice would be downright terrifying.

Koffing moved in front of Zubat protectively. "Sure we do, boss! You'd just been gone a while, y'know?"

The shape made a noise of dismissal. "I was on an errand. One, mind you, that will benefit us greatly in the next few days. And tell me, what have you two done?"

Koffing opened his mouth to answer but the boss continued, "Don't bother telling me, I already know. You got impatient and decided, instead of waiting for me, to hire some pikachu girl off the streets."

"W-well, she's been a really great help and - " Koffing began, only to be interrupted again.

"Do you even know how foolish that was of you? To just bring in some no-name pokémon into our base, into our group, without consulting me first?"

This time, Koffing didn't try to answer. He just bobbed in place in front of Zubat and Julia, looking away awkwardly.

The shape tutted, then stepped forward out of the shadows and into the dim light. Standing before them was the hulking figure of a skuntank, shadowed eyes leering. The aroma hit Julia full-on and it took all she had in her not to gag. Even Zubat recoiled slightly and coughed.

"Who are you," Skuntank said to Julia, "and do you have any last comments before I forcefully remove you from my base?"

"Don't make 'em - " Zubat started to beg before being shot a sharp look by his leader.

"Let the girl speak for herself!" Skuntank barked. Though it was a little hard to tell, Julia could pick up on a slight feminine lilt in their voice. Skuntank turned back to Julia and marched right up to her to glare down imposingly. The stench was so powerful that Julia's eyes began to water, but she held her ground.

"I'm Pikachu," Julia said, "and these two found me passed-out on the beach about a week ago. When I told them I'd lost my memory, they invited me to stay here. We've been working together since."

Skuntank narrowed her eyes. "Lost your memory? Do you really expect me to fall for the oldest trick in the book?" Her tail-tip, laid against her head, twitched irritably. "I'll bet you're nothing more than a spy working for Magnezone or those creeps at the guild."

"I'm really not!" Julia protested. "I don't even like the guild!"

"Lies!" Skuntank pulled back a paw and slashed at Julia with claws outstretched. It was a direct hit and Julia was sent sprawling into one of the cave's walls. She struggled to her feet and felt something wet running down her stomach. When she touched it with her paw, it came away bloody.

"Hey, boss, stop this!" Koffing quickly darted between them to shield Julia, and Zubat followed suit. "Pikachu here really ain't like that! She's been helping us while you were away and we've been doin' a whole lot better since she arrived!"

"Yeah, 'e's right!" Zubat chimed in. "'E's done nothin' but be a real great partner to us!"

Skuntank took a menacing step forward and both Zubat and Koffing flinched. "You boys just don't get it, do you? I don't care what she's done or how many times she's kissed up to you. What I care about is where the hell she came from." She easily brushed past the two to face Julia again. The pikachu pressed her back against the wall, one paw against the wounds on her stomach. If Skuntank attacked her now, she'd have nowhere to run.

"I wasn't born yesterday, _pikachu_," she sneered. "I can tell when someone's hiding something from me. That's how me and my boys here have survived this long. Before I came back here, I stopped through town to catch up on the gossip only to find out these two dolts had been seen around with someone new. And you know what's interesting?"

Julia's pulse picked up and she tried to keep her breathing even. "What's that?"

Skuntank smiled unpleasantly. "Nobody, not one person, knew who you were. No one had seen you before you waltzed into town one day with those two in tow. So, curiously, not only do you remember nothing, but nobody remembers you! Why would an amnesiac suddenly wake up miles away from anyone who knew them? Can you answer me that, pikachu?"

This was it. Julia was either going to be killed or dragged out into some dungeon to die alone, all before ever learning what happened to her. Did she have a family somewhere that would miss her? Friends? Did anyone know she was gone? Would these three be the only ones who remembered her?

She took in a deep breath. No. She wasn't about to let her legacy be that she once terrorized some weak cyndaquil one time. If Skuntank wanted the truth, Julia would give her the truth.

"Okay, you want to know who I really am?" Julia asked, narrowing her eyes. Skuntank sneered, lips parting to reveal rows of pointed teeth.

"Do tell."

"I'm not really a pikachu. Or, at least, I didn't used to be one." Julia stood a little straighter. "I'm a human."

For a few seconds, there was dead silence. Then Skuntank started laughing. "You? A human?! Don't be outrageous!"

"You said you wanted an explanation," Julia said. "I do have amnesia, but I can remember my name and that fact that I used to be a human."

Skuntank finished laughing and grabbed Julia with a paw, pinning her up against the wall while the pikachu struggled weakly against her. "Did you really think I'd believe such a far-fetched lie? How would a human ever turn into a pokémon? I'd wager you just made this up on the spot!"

"I didn't!" Julia kicked out feebly, trying to wrench herself free. "My name's Julia!" She felt the knot of her scarf pressing into the back of her neck, and her bag slid off her shoulder to fall on the ground. Desperate, she looked over at Zubat and Koffing, who were timidly hovering close together to watch the scene unfold. "Help…"

Koffing stared at her, a mixture of disbelief and fear on his face, then spoke up, "Boss, I think she's tellin' the truth!"

Skuntank didn't let go of Julia but she loosened her grip slightly so Julia could breathe more easily. "What makes you say that?"

"The other day, when we were robbin' a cyndaquil…" Koffing floated slightly closer. "...she up an' called Pikachu by that weird name!"

"You're right!" Zubat said, backing him up. "'E did call 'em that, didn't 'e?"

Skuntank glared back at Julia. "Did she, now?"

Breathing hard, Julia managed to respond, "She started talking to me when I was in the guild. She said her name was Flame, so I gave her my real name in return."

Skuntank was silent for a while. Finally, she let go of Julia and took a step back, a grimace on her face.

"Normally, I'd never believe someone like you," she rumbled, "but if my boys are backing up your claims, I guess I don't have much of a choice."

Julia rubbed a paw against her neck where Skuntank had grabbed her. Under the stench in the room, she could also faintly smell her own blood. Evidently, so could Skuntank, and as she walked away to her own chamber, she said, "Zubat, Koffing, you two tend to her wounds. We're getting up early tomorrow, so I need you all in perfect condition." With that, she vanished into the dark.

Koffing floated over and inspected Julia's wounds. "They're not too deep. If we mush up some oran berries on that, it oughta be healed by tomorrow."

"That's a relief," Julia said, letting out a sigh. Koffing nodded, but he was frowning.

"Why didn'tcha tell us you were a human?" he asked.

Julia rubbed the back of her head. "I didn't think you'd believe me if I did. It _is_ pretty hard to believe, after all."

"Sure it is," agreed Zubat, "but yer our partner! We gotta have some trust, right?"

"Yeah, that's true." Julia smiled at them. "Hey, thanks for sticking up for me, guys."

"'S no prob, Pikachu!" Zubat paused. "Or didja wanna be called, er, 'Jul'ya' now?"

Julia thought about it, then shook her head. "I don't want to draw too much attention to myself from other pokémon. Pikachu is fine for now."

"Sounds good to me!" said Koffing. "Now we'd better get you all cleaned up or the boss'll have a fit!"

Julia looked down her front, then said, "I can probably do it myself. Might be easier to crush up the berries with my paws."

"You got a point there!" Koffing chuckled. "We'll leave ya to it, then. C'mon, Zubat, let's go to bed."

The two flew off deeper into the cave to sleep and Julia set to work looking for some oran berries for her cuts. Vaguely, she wondered what Skuntank had planned for them tomorrow. This was earlier than they usually went to sleep. Whatever it was must be important.

Once she had spread the pulp of the healing berries all over her wounds, Julia went over to her bed, cobbled together from straw and leaves from outside, and plopped down on it on her back. She didn't know how she'd be able to fall asleep with that musky scent in the air, but eventually her eyelids grew heavy and she passed out.

* * *

"Hey, Pikachu, on your feet! We're leaving in a few minutes!"

Julia shut her eyes tighter, then opened them. Skuntank was standing right over her bed, tail flicking about idly.

"You'll need to get cleaned up before we go," she commented, looking at the mess of dried blood and blue oran berry residue in Julia's fur. "You'll want to look presentable for this."

The skuntank moved on to rouse Zubat and Koffing and Julia blearily climbed out of bed. She didn't feel very well-rested at all. It must be quite early in the day.

Julia left the cave and looked around for a tide pool to clean herself off in. Upon finding one a little ways away, she splashed the salty water over her fur. Her wounds stung a little, but as Koffing said, the oran berries had done the trick and the cuts were barely even visible. However, in the light of morning, she could now see that her bandana hadn't been spared from Skuntank's claws, and it was partially torn and bloodied. She took it off to clean it up, then tied it back around her neck. She wasn't about to stop wearing it and ruin the team's 'aesthetic', especially now that she knew the boss also wore purple.

Once she was satisfied that she was thoroughly cleaned, Julia went back into the cave to grab her bag. Zubat and Koffing were awake, but barely. Koffing was floating low against the cave floor and Zubat was sprawled across his partner's back, looking like he was about to pass out again.

"I will not have this sluggishness!" Skuntank was saying, tail lashing. "Both of you, perk up a little! This is an important day!"

"Sorry, boss," Zubat mumbled, reluctantly getting off Koffing's back, "but we all've been wakin' up a lot later than this for a long time."

"You two and your nocturnal schedules." Skuntank noted Julia's reappearance, then went on, "There's no point in waking up any later than just after sunrise. Civilized pokémon are only active during daylight hours. By sleeping in, you're just wasting time that could be better spent getting work done."

As much as Julia had gotten used to the semi-nocturnal schedule, she had to admit Skuntank had a point. Once night fell, most pokémon seemed to just go to sleep, regardless of whether their species would normally stay up past sundown. As a result, she and Zubat and Koffing were usually only able to shade one explorer a day.

"Anyhow," Skuntank continued, "now that you're sufficiently conscious, tell me - do you know about the Wigglytuff Guild's upcoming expedition, or have the three of you all been literally living under a rock?"

Koffing exchanged glances with Zubat and Julia, then answered, "Well, we'd heard _something_ was goin' on with the guild to make everyone all excited, but we didn't know what was goin' on specifically…"

"Hmmph. Typical." Skuntank turned to begin walking out of the cave and flicked her tail to gesture for the others to follow her. "A few days ago, it was announced the guild would be going out on an expedition to search for 'Fogbound Lake'. Apparently, it's some lake of legend that nobody's ever been able to find. Do you know what that means?"

"That the guild's gonna fail miserably an' we'll get to laugh at 'em?" Zubat asked.

"No, you fool!" Skuntank snapped. "It means there's bound to be unimaginable treasure hidden away there! Imagine it! Enough riches that we could all retire and live off it for the rest of our lives!"

"But if the guild's going…" Julia began slowly, trying to put together the pieces. Skuntank flashed her a grin.

"Then we'll be going with them," she finished for her.

The four emerged from the cave and Skuntank continued to lead them in the direction of the guild. It was another bright day, and the morning sun dappled through the trees, warming Julia's fur. It still felt far too early for her to be up, but there was no arguing with Skuntank.

"I'm still not sure I get it." Julia picked up her pace a little to walk closer to Skuntank, then recoiled from the stench. "Are we going to be following the guild, or…?"

"This is one of the reasons I was gone," Skuntank told her. "I spoke with their Guildmaster and convinced the fool to let us go along as a 'senior exploration team'. We'll be working under the guise of simply being extra muscle, but when the chance comes up, we'll swipe the treasure and ditch those losers."

"I like the sound of that plan!" Koffing said, grinning. "You're brilliant, boss!"

Skuntank smirked. "And don't you forget it."

"Alright!" Zubat cheered, flying around in an excited loop. "Team Skull's back in business!"

Julia perked up an ear. "Team Skull? Is that your team name?"

"_Our_ team name," Skuntank corrected. "As long as you're staying with us, _human_, you're a part of this team. Don't you go and slander it, now."

Julia nodded, looking serious.

Skuntank led them all up to the top of the guild's hill, then stopped before the grate and turned around to address them.

"Now, while we're in there, no funny business - unless I mandate it. Got it? We've got to act like the perfect little team or they might suspect something is up. Be all polite and courteous and whatnot, and under no circumstances do anything stupid, okay?"

The three nodded their agreement.

"That's what I like to hear." Skuntank turned back around and stepped onto the grate to be identified. Once she was, the gate was lifted and the four pokémon headed into the tent.

Julia climbed down the ladder carefully, suddenly feeling nervous. That cyndaquil the three of them had mugged was apparently a guild member. What if she'd gone and told the whole guild about it? All the planning Skuntank had done would be for nothing if everyone immediately recognized Julia, Zubat, and Koffing as thieves. Judging by Zubat and Koffing's silence and tight expressions, Julia figured they were probably thinking about that right now, too.

Well, it was too late to worry about it now. They were already here.

When they got to the main guild room, Skuntank didn't walk in and instead began to climb down the second ladder next to it. Julia scanned the mostly-empty upper level before following. This was the ladder down to the guild's crew room, which was normally only for guild members. It felt wrong to be going down here, but Julia pushed aside her doubts. After all, she normally operated outside the law, anyways. This was hardly any different.

Down here, the room was similar in shape to the main room, but there were entrances to hallways on either side and there were no bulletin boards down here. The place where the job board would have been was occupied by a large, black cauldron, and the place where the outlaw notice board would have been instead had a grand set of arched double doors. On that side of the room, a group of pokémon were gathered, standing in three neat lines. A chatot and wigglytuff stood at the front of the group, smiling pleasantly at the newcomers.

"Speak of the devil!" the chatot said, flapping his wings briskly. "These are the pokémon I was talking about! Meet Team Skull! They will be our partners for this expedition!"

Julia scanned the crowd for the cyndaquil and quickly noticed that all the guild members had their respective front appendages over their noses, coughing and complaining amongst themselves about the smell. She frowned, taking a whiff of the air herself. Sure, she'd gotten used to Skuntank's odour, especially after she had to sleep in it all night, but was it really that bad? It seemed like a bit of an extreme reaction.

"Settle down, everyone!" Chatot said, trying to stop the commotion. "Is that any way to act around our guests?"

"But that SMELL!" a loudred protested, fanning the air.

"Oh my gosh, it feels like I can't breathe!" added a sunflora.

Julia narrowed her eyes. Yeah, they were definitely overreacting.

It was then that she noticed the sliver of dark blue and pale yellow standing at the back of the group, staring at her in abject horror. _There_ she was. None of the other guild members seemed to have the same reaction to seeing Julia with Koffing and Zubat, however, and Julia let out a small sigh of relief. So the cyndaquil hadn't squealed. That certainly made things easier.

Meanwhile, Chatot was still trying to damage control. He shot an apologetic look at Skuntank, then flapped his wings angrily at the group. "I _said_ to settle down! You are all making a mockery of the guild! If you don't stop your complaining _this_ instant - "

Suddenly, the floor beneath their feet began to shake. Everyone looked around frantically, trying to determine the source of the shaking. Chatot, however, immediately whirled around to face Wigglytuff at the back, who was smiling vacantly at nothing.

"You're angering the Guildmaster!" Chatot exclaimed. "If this keeps up - !"

The room was silent in an instant, and the rumbling stopped shortly afterwards, though Wigglytuff's expression and pose hadn't changed in the slightest. Chatot looked absolutely ruffled, but he shook himself out and cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, Team Skull will be joining us on our expedition! They will be staying with us for the next few days while we finalize the members who will be coming on the expedition! Please, _for the love of the gods_ \- " He cast a furtive glance back at Wigglytuff. " - treat them with respect!"

There were no complaints this time around, but nobody looked thrilled.

"Now, then, off to work with you all!" With that, the guild members dispersed, grumbling discontentedly amongst themselves. Only the cyndaquil stayed behind, still staring at Team Skull.

"It's you," she said quietly, trembling. Whether it was from anger or fear Julia couldn't tell, but she'd wager it was the latter.

"Hello again!" Koffing sneered, floating near. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, we missed ya!" Zubat added, grinning.

The cyndaquil ignored both of them, instead glaring at Julia. Julia didn't know what to say, so she stared back.

Chatot looked from Team Skull to the cyndaquil, eyebrows raised. "You've already met? Well, isn't that wonderful! Now you'll get to know each other even better while they're staying with us!"

"I already know them," the cyndaquil growled, "and I know they're bad people! They stole from me!"

Chatot sent her a sharp look. "Flame, what did I just say?! I won't have you being rude to these good pokémon! They so kindly volunteered to help us out on this expedition, taking time out of their own busy lives to assist us! Now cease this at once!"

"But - "

"I said at once!" Chatot flapped angrily at her. "Or do you wish to incur the Guildmaster's wrath again?"

Flame lowered her head. "...No."

Chatot nodded in approval, then looked back to Team Skull apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry for Flame's behaviour! She's of the newest member of our guild, you see, and she hasn't quite learned to show respect to her superiors yet."

Skuntank smiled unpleasantly. "Oh, no, that's quite understandable. It must be hard, starting out, and I'm certain it must take a while to learn one's place." She smoothly glanced over at Flame, meeting her eyes.

"Oh, you're so understanding!" Chatot beamed, clapping his wings together. "It would do you good to learn from Skuntank's behaviour, Flame! Now, off with you! Pick some assignments from the job boards for today!"

Flame scurried off past Team Skull and vanished up the ladder. Grinning, Skuntank addressed Chatot. "Now, if you will, we'll be off for now. Do let me know if ever you need us."

"But of course!" Chatot waved a wing. "We shall see you at dinner, then! We'll have a room set aside for the three - four of you." He peered over at Julia curiously. "You hadn't told me of a fourth member, but it's no worry! No worry at all! We'll certainly be able to accommodate her, as well!"

"Our sincerest thanks," Skuntank said, then turned and headed for the ladder. "Come along, you three. Let's take some jobs for today."

They left the over-the-moon Chatot and went upstairs back to the main floor. The pokémon up here, guild member and non alike, moved aside to give them room, or perhaps just to get away from the smell, and the four were able to walk, unobstructed, to the outlaw notice board to choose some jobs.

"Hmm, this one seems challenging enough." Skuntank plucked a notice off the board with a claw and showed it to her teammates. "A gang of palpitoads has been causing trouble down in Sheltered Marsh and Officer Magnezone has a hefty bounty on their heads. Howzabout we take them down and show them who's _really_ boss around here?"

Julia frowned at the note. It sounded dangerous, but Skuntank seemed confident enough. And with the four of them, they would be a powerful combination.

"I guess that's fine," Julia said, "if you say we can handle it, boss."

Skuntank chuckled. "Oh, we'll _more_ than handle it...Pikachu."

"Let's take those suckers down!" Koffing said, already heading for the exit. Zubat followed, looking invigorated.

"Yeah, let's mash 'em to a pulp!"

Skuntank turned and beckoned to Julia with her tail. "Come along, Pikachu, while the day is still young."

Julia nodded and made to follow, then glanced across the room at Flame. The cyndaquil looked like she was trying not to look in Julia's direction, but she kept flicking her gaze up anxiously. Julia felt a twinge of pity inside her. Flame was just a new recruit. She probably wasn't strong enough to complete a difficult job on her own, and what Julia, Zubat, and Koffing did to her must have crushed her spirit.

Julia frowned. Maybe she should say something to her. Apologize, even. If they had known she was so low-level, they surely wouldn't have targeted her. But Skuntank was waiting, and Julia reluctantly followed her new leader up the ladder and out of the guild. It was best not to think about it too much. What was done was done. Now they just had to keep up appearances until the expedition was over. Then they could go back to their regular activities and Julia wouldn't have to worry about that cyndaquil anymore.

* * *

**Do I really need a second author's note at the bottom of each chapter? Probably not. Will I continue to do it out of habit? Most likely. See you again next week!**


	9. Chapter 9: Ponyta

**Hey, y'all! It's ya boi, NaturallyDark, bringing you yet another chapter! Y'know, as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary here. I do feel the need to mention that I've been feeling a little writer's block-y lately, though, and while I fully intend to keep up my schedule this time, I should at least add a disclaimer that there may be times where I need to delay a chapter's release in the event that I don't finish the chapter in time. If that happens, the chapter will be delayed until the Friday of the next week. This site's a little silly so I can't send out any notice to the followers of this story, but if/when I don't upload a chapter on time, I'll provide an explanation on my profile page.**

**Anyways, enough with the jabber! On with the show!**

* * *

Sir Majestic Tail dimmed his flames slightly to duck low under a swathe of hanging vines. Ahead of him was more thick foliage and he snorted in irritation.

"How am I to avoid setting the landscape on fire when it's practically _begging_ me to light it up?" he complained, glaring back at his teammates. "And why doesn't _Camerupt_ have to watch his every step like I must?"

The other two emerged from between a pair of mossy trees and walked straight through the vines. "That would be because I don't have every inch of my body ablaze," Camerupt replied simply. "You _could_ avoid the problem by putting your fires out, you know."

"Unthinkable! I would never willingly diminish my beauty!" Sir Majestic Tail stamped a hoof in irritation, but not even that was right. His hoof simply sunk into the soft bed of moss and damp soil and he had to shake it off.

He'd really thought taking a rescue request in Fortuna Jungle would be an easy, quick job, but the place was so overgrown in greenery that he had to be extremely careful not to start any wildfires. It left his moveset against enemy pokémon very limited, which only made the ponyta more frustrated.

"We should be getting close," Bellsprout said, holding up the rescue request to read its details. "It says here that Arcanine didn't get very far before he was jumped."

"How does an _arcanine_ get trapped this sort of place, anyhow?" Sir Majestic Tail scoffed. "There are nothing but grass-types here! Really, if I were him I'd be beyond embarrassed!"

"His attacker might not have been from this dungeon," Bellsprout pointed out. He frowned. "Still, we should be careful. It _is_ kinda suspicious."

Sir Majestic Tail sniffed. "As long as we're out of here as soon as possible, I don't care how he ended up in this sorry situation. All of this atrocious green is putting a considerable strain on my vision!"

Bellsprout looked somewhat offended but rolled up the request and just kept walking.

Only a few minutes later, the three came out into a clearing, in the centre of which lay a large arcanine. It didn't appear to be moving.

"Arcanine, we're here to rescue you!" Bellsprout called out, coming forward with his explorer badge. In a flash, the pokémon leapt to its feet and shot a torrent of flames out its mouth, sending Bellsprout skittering backwards with an alarmed screech.

"You fools fell right into my trap!" Arcanine boomed, grinning to show off his fangs. "Attack!"

All at once, pokémon leapt out of the bushes all around them and charged at Team Flame. Sir Majestic Tail reared up, surprised, then immediately let loose a volley of fire attacks and wild kicks. Camerupt followed suit, viciously shooting lava at the attackers. All around them, flames sprouted up, forming a ring of fire around the group of pokémon.

"Guys, stop!" Bellsprout cried, backing away in terror. "You're gonna burn the whole jungle down!"

"We have no choice!" Camerupt snapped, fending off an attack from a dragonair. "If we don't, we won't stand a chance against all these enemies!"

Sir Majestic Tail blasted a helioptile, only to be attacked from behind by a vaporeon. "There are just too many of them! We cannot hope to defeat them all!"

"Yes we can!" Camerupt gritted his teeth against a barrage of attacks from several pokémon attacking his other side. "They're not so tough!"

Behind them, Bellsprout let out a cry of pain and Sir Majestic Tail looked back just in time to see his leader go down in Arcanine's flames. He kicked off the vaporeon and dashed over to Bellsprout to stand over him protectively.

"We're _leaving_, Camerupt!" he insisted firmly.

Camerupt took one look at Bellsprout's crumpled form and nodded. "Let's get out of this monster house!"

Without any hesitation, Sir Majestic Tail janked an escape orb out of his bag and hurled it at the ground. With a flash of light, the trio were back outside Fortuna Jungle at its entrance. Though it was distant, Sir Majestic Tail could see smoke beginning to rise out of the trees and he cringed. Arcanine may have started the fire, but Sir Majestic Tail and Camerupt certainly didn't make it better.

"How's Bellsprout?" Camerupt asked, stepping over. Sir Majestic Tail nudged the small pokémon's side with the tip of a hoof, but Bellsprout didn't wake up.

"Oh, goodness, he requires healing immediately!" Sir Majestic Tail dug through his bags with his muzzle until he found a rawst berry and a reviver seed. He then began the difficult process of making Bellsprout chew them up and swallow them without crushing him with his hooves. After about a minute, Bellsprout finally stirred, then sat up, coughing.

"Hey, Bellsprout, how are you feeling?" Camerupt asked him. Bellsprout looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes and scrabbled away.

"What are you cowering for?" Sir Majestic Tail asked, stepping forward. "It's just us."

Bellsprout swallowed, breathing heavily, then nodded slowly. "S-sorry, guys," he stammered, his voice weak, "I just p-panicked. It was...a whole lot of fire, y'know?"

Camerupt and Sir Majestic Tail exchanged a glance. It was no secret that their leader had a fear of flames, but Bellsprout had been too terrified to even fight back against the enemies. As much as they respected him, Bellsprout was their Achilles' heel when it came to anything to do with fire.

"Yeah, I know it was." Camerupt heaved a sigh. "Well, that was a real scummy thing of Arcanine, wasn't it? Guess we'll have to report this to Officer Magnemite."

Still visibly shaken, Bellsprout agreed, "Y-yeah, wouldn't want any other explorers falling into that trap."

Camerupt and Sir Majestic Tail began walking towards Treasure Town, but Bellsprout lagged behind. Sir Majestic Tail paused to glance back.

"Are you certain you're alright?" It hurt him on a spiritual level to say this, but he went on in a strained voice, "I'd normally never do this, but if you require it, I could put out my flames temporarily and offer you a ride home."

Bellsprout shook his head, smiling faintly. "I'm fine. I can make it on my own."

Sir Majestic Tail frowned, then shrugged and continued on. "Well, if you insist."

* * *

No one spoke as they approached Treasure Town. The tension between them was palpable, but nobody could think of anything to say. Bellsprout was distractedly rubbing his arm where it had been singed while Camerupt and Sir Majestic Tail pretended they weren't watching him do so. Pelippers flew overhead on their way to douse the wildfire that was surely raging in Fortuna Jungle, and Sir Majestic Tail swore he could smell the smoke even from here.

"Hey, guys…" Bellsprout began awkwardly as they passed the crossroads. "I'm really sorry for flaking out on you guys back there. You needed me and I let you down."

"Don't sweat it," Camerupt responded. "It was pretty chaotic back there, anyway."

"But if I didn't just act like a baby, we could've beaten them!" Bellsprout sighed dejectedly and looked away. "I'm not much of a leader, am I?"

Sir Majestic Tail gasped and shook his head briskly. "Where on earth is this coming from?! You've been an excellent leader for this team! One little setback doesn't determine your worth!"

Bellsprout didn't even smile. "I dunno, it's just… Sometimes, I wonder what I've gotten myself into, and whether - "

He was cut off by the sound of commotion coming from town. The three looked at each other, surprised, and quickly headed in.

Sir Majestic Tail was, of course, the fastest, and as such was the first to reach the source of the commotion. He slowed to a stop outside a crowd of townspeople, who were gathered around the kecleon brothers' shop and muttering nervously amongst themselves. Shoving his way through the crowd, Sir Majestic Tail laid eyes on one of the most surprising scenes he'd ever witnessed in this town.

A mareep with the mottled fur of a feral was viciously attacking the brothers' store with blasts of electricity while the brothers stood on the counter, shouting angrily and looking just about pissed off enough to start fighting back. If they did, surely the conflict would be over instantly - everyone in town knew their combined strength was almost unmatched - but Sir Majestic Tail couldn't let the altercation end without stepping in himself.

"What in _blazes_ is going on here?!" he demanded, storming over towards the mareep. "Who are you and what in Arceus's name are - "

Sir Majestic Tail was suddenly cut off when the mareep turned on him and shot him with a lightning bolt. He jumped backwards and his flames burned higher as rage built within him. How _dare_ this uncultured beast attack him before he was even done speaking?!

"That is _not_ an acceptable answer!" he yelled, only to be hit with more electricity. "Would you cut that out!"

After the third electric attack directed at him, he gave up on talking. If this mareep was going to be so determined to be a menace and act like the feral she was, he'd grant her the same amount of civility. Rearing up, he charged at her and dealt her a swift kick to the chest. By the time he'd circled around to face her again, he saw that she had backed up, readying a charge of her own. Both narrowed their eyes and they ran at each other at the same time.

Sir Majestic Tail had assumed that his superior speed would result in his attack being more powerful than hers, but the force of her horn-aided headbutt into his chest winded him and he staggered back. The attack seemed to have taken a lot out of her, too, and she stood on the spot with her legs splayed, panting. The crowd's murmuring had gotten louder and Sir Majestic Tail could hear their voices of concern for him. Invigorated, he stood straighter, preparing to finish the mareep off with a blast of fire.

Just as he was about to roast that lamb, she suddenly spoke up, "The hell are you fighting _me_ for?! The _real_ enemies are over there!"

Caught off guard, Sir Majestic Tail paused and followed her gaze to the two kecleon brothers, who were still standing on their shop's counter and looked affronted at the accusation.

"What, the shopkeepers?" he asked, confused enough to engage in conversation.

"Yes! Them!" The mareep bristled, her puffy wool growing in size slightly to match her agitation. "They're the guys who always attack you if you even _touch_ their shit!"

Sir Majestic Tail raised a foreleg, looking from them to the mareep. "Blasphemy! I've never seen them attack a soul!"

"Don't lie to me!" the mareep yelled. "They hide out in the wild, with their little blankets and pile of goods, then try to kill you if you just nibble one of their gummis!"

Now Sir Majestic Tail understood what she was talking about. "You absolutely _daft_ ball of fleece, those are _different_ kecleons! Green and Purple here always stay in town!"

"He's right!" Green piped up, stepping forwards and nearly losing his balance on the counter. "There's more than two kecleons in existence, you know!"

"We're no travelling shopkeeps, that's for sure!" Purple added.

The mareep growled, glaring. "Whatever! They're all the same to me! And they deserve this for all they've done to me!" She raised her voice into an angry shout. "I _WANTED_ THAT YELLOW GUMMI YOU JERKS!"

Camerupt and Bellsprout finally caught up to Sir Majestic Tail and squeezed through the crowd to join him. "What's going on?" Camerupt asked. "Who's this?"

"Some feral, uncivilized mareep!" Sir Majestic Tail spat, swishing his tail. "What are you doing so far from your mystery dungeon, feral?"

The mareep bristled and her wool fluffed up even more as she became defensive. "I'm not a feral!" she snapped. "I'm Fluffy!"

Sir Majestic Tail eyed her. "I can see that."

"No, that's my name, you stupid...stupid!" She made an irritated sound. "My name is Fluffy and I'm an explorer! See?"

She shook out her fur and an explorer badge fell out onto the ground. "See, this is proof that I'm a real explorer!"

"Oh, you really think so? If you're a _real explorer_ like you claim to be, why are you attacking random civilians?" Sir Majestic Tail countered. Fluffy blinked and looked around, seeming to only just now notice the crowd.

"They, uh, looked similar, okay?" she snapped. "That's all, you dumb white-legs thing!"

Sir Majestic Tail's flames grew brighter in unspoken fury while Camerupt walked out into the centre of the crowd.

"Everything's settled here, folks," he said, making a shooing motion with a leg. "Team Flame has this under control. You can all go back to your regular activities."

The crowd slowly dispersed, muttering curiously about the strange mareep. In the mean time, Sir Majestic Tail was taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. It was okay. This uncivilized brute just didn't know who he was. Or what he was, apparently.

"I'll have you know, _Fluffy_, I'm a top-of-class explorer in the highly-respected Team Flame," Sir Majestic Tail informed, raising his chin. "You may call me Sir Majestic Tail." He turned slightly as he said that to show off his blazing tail for emphasis.

Fluffy squinted at it. "You call that blob of fire on your butt a tail?"

Sir Majestic Tail gnashed his teeth. "Why, of all the _insolent_, _uninformed_ \- "

"So, Fluffy," Bellsprout began, trying to cut Sir Majestic Tail off before he could blow up at her, "where are you from? I haven't seen any mareeps - "

"No no no, this is important!" Sir Majestic Tail interrupted, stepping forward until he was nearly face-to-face with Fluffy. She was a good foot shorter than him, though, and he had to turn his head down while she turned hers up, looking defiant. Camerupt groaned loudly and Bellsprout put his face in his hands as he muttered, "Oh, no, not again."

"You may insult my mane, you may insult my hooves, and you may insult my _face_ if you so fancy!" He stood taller, forcing her to raise her own chin even higher to maintain eye contact. "But you may _not_, under any circumstances, insult my _tail_! Do you know how much energy and continuous concentration is required to maintain this thing of _marvel_ and absolute _perfection_?!" His voice raised in volume as he grew more passionate, and his flames once again rose with it.

"Unless you were a ponyta yourself, you could never understand the incredible _majesty_ and stunning _beauty_ of my tail! From a humble dock of flesh-and-blood bursts forth a fountain of blazing flawlessness, the likes of which could never be replicated by another of my kind! This perfect blaze, which would blacken the dock of a lesser pony, is the highest symbol of pride and purity!

"To insult this exemplary tail is to admit you have no taste, have never had taste, and can never _hope_ to have taste! It is to admit your foolishness to the highest degree! It is to admit that you are the complete opposite of an artist, lacking any form of creativity or appreciation for the more beautiful things in life, and that you are - dare I say it? - an absolute and utter buffoon! Is this what you want?! To blatantly and explicitly admit such things?!"

Fluffy stared at him. "...Your face is ugly."

Sir Majestic Tail became too choked up to reply.

"_So_, Fluffy," Bellsprout tried again as Camerupt gently shoved Sir Majestic Tail away from the mareep, "where did you say you were from?"

"I'm from Amp Plains!" Fluffy said proudly, without indication that the speech had left any sort of impact on her. "I just came into this tent city today after travelling around!"

Bellsprout offered her a patronizing smile. "That's quite a far ways to come without a wonder map! You must be tired from your travels!"

"And starving, too!" she agreed, grinning eagerly. "Know where I can get me some good food around here?" She took a step forward, looking Bellsprout over. "You look almost edible yourself…"

"Uh, well, that's…!" Bellsprout drew back, apparently uncertain about how he should take that. "G-grass-type pokémon aren't edible."

Fluffy smirked. "Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it, amiright?"

Helplessly, Bellsprout looked over at Camerupt, who gave a slight nod then said to Fluffy, "Alright, kiddo, I can tell you're hungry, but let's not jump straight to desperate measures. Why don't we bring you over to our base for now and get you some real food?"

Sir Majestic Tail found his voice again. "What?! You can't just invite such an uncouth - "

"No, I agree with Camerupt," Bellsprout interrupted. "She's come a long way and she's new to Treasure Town." He said the next part with a slight wince. "It's not her fault she doesn't exactly understand social situations yet. We'll just feed her and let her stay the night, then send her on her way. That way, we could even teach her some of the customs of civilization. How does that sound?"

Before Sir Majestic Tail could say how horrible he thought that sounded, Fluffy interjected, "Sounds great! Let's go, already, I'm starved!"

"Why do I get no say in this decision?!" Sir Majestic Tail whined. "I was the one who so valiantly stepped in to defuse the situation when she was attacking! Not only that, she threatened to eat Bellsprout! Our leader! Surely that's inexcusable behaviour!"

"I was _obviously_ just joking."

Camerupt chuckled. "Come on, Ponyta, it could be fun. No need to be such a _neigh_-sayer."

Sir Majestic Tail pouted. "That's not even remotely funny."

Fluffy sneered and trotted over with her long tail wagging. "I think it's funny, _Fire-Butt_!"

This was it. This had to be the most humiliating day of Sir Majestic Tail's life. He nearly burned down a jungle, almost got his leader killed, and was now stuck with a rogue mareep who not only refused to call him by name, but instead gave him repugnant nicknames. It was just about more than he could bear.

If only he hadn't spent all of his energy on that speech about his tail, he would have had the strength to argue against this injustice.

"Why don't we head home for the day?" Bellsprout said. "We can get whatever supplies we need tomorrow before we head out."

The grass-type led the group back out of town. Fluffy followed close behind, bouncing excitedly, while Camerupt and Sir Majestic Tail trailed behind.

"I've gotta say," Camerupt began under his breath, "this mareep's starting to grow on me already. And she's pretty cute for a feral, isn't she?"

Sir Majestic Tail tossed his mane. "I find her savagery to be too unpleasant to focus on the more...shallow details."

Camerupt chuckled. "You've really gotta learn to lighten up sometimes, Ponyta. Live your life a little instead of always being such a priss."

"I _am_ living my life, thank you very much."

"You've got mud on your hooves."

Sir Majestic Tail leaped up as if he'd been struck and checked his hooves frantically. "Where?! Which one?! Oh, goodness, how bad is it?!"

Ahead of him, Fluffy snickered, looking back with a smug expression. Sir Majestic Tail stopped his panicking and straightened up.

"That was a rude trick, Camerupt."

"Just making a point," Camerupt said with a grin.

The rest of the walk to the base was uneventful. The base wasn't too far off from the town, just a few minutes from the crossroads. Concealed within a grove of trees was an old building made of bricks of stone, cleared of detritus and repaired to be usable as a shelter. It wasn't very big, but it was large enough that all three could stand around inside comfortably and still have enough room to move about. Inside, the stone floor was swept clean and it was dark, there being no sources of light when the front door was closed besides a small window high on one wall. A compartment on one end of the base held all their food, while another hidden compartment right next to it held some of their treasures. The other side of the room had their three beds, though one was perpetually charred and had to be replaced periodically.

"Nice place you got here!" Fluffy said, immediately trampling all over the beds as if she hadn't seen them and making a mess of straw everywhere. "So, where's the food?"

Bellsprout wore a strained smile and Camerupt moved to block Sir Majestic Tail from galloping at her and exacting swift justice.

"Okay, um, Fluffy?" Bellsprout began tentatively. "I know you're not used to this whole 'being among other pokémon' thing yet, so I'll give you a few pointers."

"Sure sure!" She sat down where she was, grinning at him eagerly.

"First thing - try to be respectful of other pokémons' property. Those were our beds you just messed up."

"Oh, those?" Fluffy craned her neck to look at what was left of the beds. "Can't you just remake them?"

Sir Majestic Tail finally spoke up, "It's not that simple, you ungrateful piece of lint! Those were very meticulously crafted, gathered up from the most quality of materials, and now you've gotten your filthy, grimy hooves all over them!"

Bellsprout huffed an amused sigh. "What he means is, it'll kind of be a pain to make them up again."

Fluffy nodded earnestly. "Got it! Okay, what else?"

"Second thing is that we all have to help each other out. That's how society works. Nobody can just take all the time, and nobody is able to do nothing but give. When we give you some of our food, you have to realize that we worked hard to get that food, and that most pokémon wouldn't just give it to you for nothing."

"Right, got it." She stood up and began pacing. "Can we finish the lessons later? I'm really hungry right now."

Smiling faintly, Bellsprout nodded. "Okay, fine, we can get back to this after you eat."

The four of them settled down to have dinner. Bellsprout set out the berries for everyone and they all had their fill; even Fluffy, who devoured her portion in a matter of seconds, seemed satisfied. The rest of the evening was spent fixing the beds and doing some basic housekeeping. All the while, Bellsprout patiently explained the ways of the world to Fluffy, who was eager to learn. Sir Majestic Tail kept shooting her spiteful looks, but even he had to admit she was picking up concepts fast. For as much of a feral as she was, she did seem to be genuinely interested in becoming a civilized pokémon and explorer. Having run out of complaints to make against her for the time being, he reluctantly kept quiet and focussed on cleaning up the base.

By the time night fell, he was tired out and more than ready to sleep and let the day be over. He and his teammates bade each other and Fluffy goodnight and settled down in their newly-built and -rebuilt beds. Sir Majestic Tail put out his flames for the night and like that, it was lights-out.

He was just beginning to fall asleep when he felt a hoof prod his side. Tiredly, he lifted his head to see none other than Fluffy standing over him, wearing a grin.

"So, when are we gonna do some exploring?" she asked in a hushed voice. Sir Majestic Tail snorted at her and laid his head back down, looking away.

"Tomorrow. Now go to sleep already and leave me be."

She didn't seem quite done, however, as she crouched down next to him on the floor. "How long have you been an explorer?"

"Quit pestering me!" Sir Majestic Tail hissed, glaring at her. "You'll wake everyone up!"

"Aw, c'mon, just answer the question already."

He paused, wondering whether to humour her, then relented. How could _anyone _resist the temptation to talk about themselves? "Well, I'd been in training to become an explorer for three years, and have been a fully-fledged, professional explorer for six." He sniffed and gave a smug smile. "More than what _most_ hacks out there can say for themselves."

Fluffy's eyes widened. "Wow, that's a long time! You've been with these guys for six whole years?"

"Keep your voice down, for goodness' sake!" Sir Majestic Tail looked nervously at the other two, but they appeared to be sound asleep. "I've only been a part of Team Flame for two years, actually."

"Only two?" Fluffy turned her head to the side. "What about the other four years?"

Sir Majestic Tail looked back away. "...I don't want to talk about it."

"C'mon! Please?" Fluffy pressed. Sir Majestic Tail turned his head away further and Fluffy scooched closer to him. "I won't go away until you tell me!"

"I don't owe you any answers! Go back to bed!"

Fluffy didn't respond, just kept leaning in closer in an apparent attempt to make him uncomfortable. He kicked her lightly with a hind leg, trying to push her away, but she just scooched towards the front of his body, out of reach of his leg. Her forelegs were tucked under her wool and she was grinning eagerly. It was clear she fully intended to enact her threat.

After another few moments of enduring Fluffy leaning far too close to him for comfort, Sir Majestic Tail finally whispered, "Alright, alright, just keep your muzzle a safe distance from mine!" He looked out the small window that let in a ray of moonlight just so he wouldn't have to look at her face. "I was on another team before this one. As _some people_ refuse to let me forget, we were a stellar team, truly among the best." He couldn't help smugly adding, "I dare say, we were well on our way to surpassing Team Charm."

Fluffy shuffled around on the floor, as if settling down with the expectation of hearing a long story. "So, what happened? Why aren't you with them anymore?"

Sir Majestic Tail flinched and shut his eyes tightly. Red swam across his vision. "Nothing happened," he said. "We parted ways...after some disagreements. Then I joined Team Flame. The end."

Fluffy stared at him in the silence that followed. "What?! You can't expect me to believe that! What _really_ happened?"

Sir Majestic Tail gave her a look of annoyance. "Quiet, by Arceus! I've already said I don't wish to talk about it! And I've told you what you wanted! Go to bed already!"

She huffed, but got up and marched back over to her bed obediently. Sir Majestic Tail watched her curl up with her nose tucked under her tail and look at him one more time before closing her eyes. Glancing at his teammates to make sure he hadn't woken them up, Sir Majestic Tail finally set his head back down and went to sleep.

* * *

**Things are starting to heat up! People are finally meeting! But as you'd imagine, the sailing won't necessarily be so smooth just yet! **

**By the way, as a little teaser for next week's chapter, you may see an unexpected face show up soon. Whose face? Wouldn't you like to know [winky emoji]!**


	10. Chapter 10: Mareep

**Reading this over before uploading, I kind of surprised myself how patchwork this chapter is. I took a lot of it from the first draft I did of this story back in November, and have been intermittently tweaking and editing it heavily since. You probably won't notice where the old writing ends and the new writing begins, but if you can correctly guess it in the comments, I'll send you a digital cookie and a gold star.**

* * *

Fluffy stared at her blurred reflection in the stream. She didn't see how the long bath she had taken in it earlier that morning had made her appearance any better, but she did think her wool maybe looked a bit more vibrant. She turned her head from side to side, trying to get her best angle, then eventually gave up and wandered away from the flowing water.

She had come back to Treasure Town with Team Flame the day after they had let her sleep over at their nice stone house. Currently, the team was talking with those suspiciously-familiar kecleon brothers, buying whatever they needed for exploring. Fluffy wasn't really paying attention. If it wasn't adventuring, she wasn't interested.

Still, just watching townspeople go through town was kind of fun. There were a whole bunch of pokémon she didn't even know the species of, and some she swore she'd seen once or twice at Amp Plains. They all seemed so nice, and they weren't even attacking each other! It was like a great big herd with everyone cooperating and being all friendly. She'd always thought civilized pokémon were stuck-up and rude, but everyone exceeded her expectations.

That is, almost everyone.

The ponyta who called himself 'Sir Majestic Tail' was watching her with suspicion from where he was standing by the shop counter. His flaming mane and tail seemed to rise and fall in reaction to what she did. If she sat around doing nothing, the flames were calm. If she bent down and ate dirt, they flared up like they were trying to fly right off his body. It was amusing to watch at first, but it wasn't as entertaining as it would be if he was unrestrained by Camerupt, who stood defensively between the two. As a result, Sir Majestic Tail was stuck just standing by the counter and glaring.

"Alright, we're done!"

Fluffy turned her head to see Bellsprout walking over to her with something large and brown in his leaf-hands. "I figured we'd get you a little send-off gift!" he said brightly. "If you're gonna be a real explorer, you'll need a bag to carry your things. There's even a wonder map inside so you'll know where you're going!"

He came up to her and slung the strap of the bag over her neck. He took a step back, frowned, then stepped forward again to readjust it.

"Oh, _please_, you're doing it all wrong," Sir Majestic Tail said, stepping forward himself and moving the bag around until it rested comfortably where Fluffy could easily reach into it.

"That's very nice of you, Sir Majestic Tail," said Bellsprout, giving the ponyta a smile. Sir Majestic Tail tossed his mane.

"It's just that there's a way to _do_ it if you're a quadruped." He gave a haughty sniff. "I only fixed it because it would've bothered me if I just left it be."

Camerupt raised his eyebrows at Sir Majestic Tail but the latter ignored him and trotted back to join him behind Bellsprout.

"Now, journeying alone might be dangerous at first," Bellsprout cautioned, "but once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun!" He patted Fluffy's wool then recoiled from the static. "Er, if you want, we can show you to the guild. That's where exploration teams take their job requests from. You could even join the guild as a member if you wanted!"

Fluffy thought about it, tail wagging idly. Then she said, "What if I just want to go to Treeshroud Forest?"

The members of Team Flame appeared to be shocked and looked at each other apprehensively. "W-why would you want to go there?" Bellsprout asked.

"Well, I've been listening to the town people…" she said, looking thoughtful, "...and everyone seems to be talking about how someone stole the Time Gear from there."

Bellsprout looked even more taken aback and Camerupt muttered, "Geez, you'd think people would have moved on from that by now to gossip about the guild's expedition..."

"You know about the Time Gears?" Bellsprout asked incredulously.

"Who doesn't! I've never seen one, but all the guys in my flock knew about them. They keep time working right, right?"

Bellsprout nodded, frowning. "That's right, but why would you want to go someplace where the Time Gear is absent?"

"Easy! I want to know what it looks like when time's all messed up!"

Sir Majestic Tail took that opportunity to step forward again. "Not that I'm surprised a flock of _ferals_ wouldn't understand the basic principles of time, but you're incredibly incorrect. As a matter of fact, time is not 'messed up' when a Time Gear is removed from its rightful place. It stops entirely."

Fluffy grinned. "Sounds even cooler! That's where I'm gonna go, then!"

"You simply can't!" Sir Majestic Tail snapped irritably. "It's very far, beyond Amp Plains, and the environment there is certainly bound to be fraught with danger!"

"You don't know if it's really dangerous?"

"Don't pick apart my words like that! I'm a senior explorer and I know there's no doubt that such a place would be highly unsafe, especially for an explorer as inexperienced as yourself!"

Fluffy thought about it. He may be right, but she still really wanted to see it. An idea came to her and she changed tactics. "You're a really good explorer, aren't you?"

Looking surprised by the question, Sir Majestic Tail puffed out his chest proudly. "What kind of question is that? You should know by now that I'm among the best!"

"Have you ever seen a place where time was stopped?" Fluffy went on.

"No…?"

"Then come see it with me!"

"I - !" Sir Majestic Tail whipped his head to look back and forth between his teammates and Fluffy. "No, I can't do that! I have a team to accompany! Besides, what point would there be in going to Treeshroud Forest besides getting to see what it looks like when such a rare status afflicts a dungeon?"

The question answered itself. Sir Majestic Tail seemed to realize this, and became even more flustered as a result.

"No, no, I'm not going! Absolutely not! You go on your own if you so desire, but I'm staying with my team!"

Camerupt came up to him and nudged his flank. "Aw, go ahead, you know you want to."

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll be fine without you for a day or two!" Bellsprout joined in, smiling. "This way, you can avoid having to go to the guild for an assignment, too."

Fluffy could see Sir Majestic Tail's resolve beginning to crack. The idea was just too tempting for him to resist. She decided that it was time to deal him the final blow.

"If you come to Treeshroud Forest with me, I'll be out of your fiery hair forever afterwards," she said. "Whaddaya say?"

He looked from her to Bellsprout and Camerupt again, then finally sighed dramatically. "Very well, I'll join you just this once." He straightened up. "But after this, you and I will part ways and I shall return to my team. Understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Fluffy bounced in place. "So let's go! Onward to Treeshroud Forest!"

After Bellsprout and Camerupt ensured Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy would have enough healing and support items for their journey, they said their goodbyes and parted ways. Fluffy was practically vibrating with excitement as she and Sir Majestic Tail set off past the crossroads. Her first real exploration since becoming a proper explorer! And she had a real pro coming along with her, even if he was mostly a pro at being annoying and lame.

"Now listen here, Fluffy," Sir Majestic Tail began as they walked down the path, "this journey will be long and, as I've said, potentially dangerous. As such, you are to listen to everything I say and do exactly as I tell you! If you deviate from what I command you to do, it may be greatly embarrassing for the both of us. Do you understand?"

Fluffy nodded, grinning. "You're the dashing leader and I'm your pitiful sheep."

"Y-yes, well, that's as it should be," Sir Majestic Tail said, his cheeks colouring. "Anyways, I propose we adopt a rapid pace for the journey to Treeshroud Forest. It's quite a ways away, and if we want to reach it by sundown, we'll need to gallop for much of the way."

"Whatever you say, Fire-Butt!"

Bristling, Sir Majestic Tail snapped, "Don't call me that! My name is Sir Maj - "

"I know, but it's so long!" Fluffy moaned. "Fire-Butt is short and accurate! What's not to love?"

"It's highly derogatory!"

"I think it's descriptive." Fluffy winked at him, then sped up. "C'mon, let's hurry it up!"

Sir Majestic Tail increased his speed to match hers. "This conversation isn't over!"

Without responding, Fluffy picked up the pace even more. She wanted to see if this ponyta could keep up with her. To her surprise, he checked her speed easily, then went even faster. It was all she could do just to keep him in her sight as he galloped ahead. His long legs let him cover much more ground in each stride than her shorter legs could, and Fluffy found herself being impressed with him despite herself.

Trees gave way to open plains, though not anywhere near as barren as Amp Plains. Several trees dotted the landscape and the grass was a beautiful green, and mountains loomed in the distance. It was a beautiful place to be charging through, particularly due to the refreshing lack of wild pokémon who would want to kill them. There were some sawsbucks grazing off to the side of the beaten path, and bird pokémon flew abovehead, but none made any move to intercept or attack the two quadrupeds who were thundering through their territories.

Fluffy vaguely recognized the landscape from when she had been wandering around after escaping Amp Plains, though no landmarks stood out to her. She would have been happy to live out here in these fields, but everyone knew proper explorers didn't live in fields. Besides, most of the guys out here weren't huge conversationalists. They reminded her somewhat of her herd, except they weren't fluffy jerks.

After what felt like an eternity of constant galloping, Sir Majestic Tail slowed down to let Fluffy catch up to him. He trotted for a little while, letting her take a more easy pace, before gradually speeding back up. After an hour or so of keeping up like this, Fluffy was exhausted. They took a short break for lunch, and Fluffy was shocked to see how close they already were to Amp Plains.

"How much farther to Treeshroud Forest?" she asked as she munched on an apple.

"We've still a ways to go," Sir Majestic Tail replied. He had already finished his apple and was busy stretching out his legs. "I'll admit, I'm a tad surprised you've been able to keep up so well."

Fluffy shrugged and took another bite. "You gotta be strong to make it in the wild."

"Is that so?" Sir Majestic Tail looked off in the direction of Amp Plains and made a face. "Do you...miss your old home at all?"

"Nah, not really. It sucked there. It was super fucking boring unless an explorer showed up, and even then you either knocked them out or they knocked you out." She rolled the apple core back and forth. "Mostly it was the second one."

"Yes, I would assume so. I couldn't imagine you much enjoyed being on the receiving end."

"I was pretty much the only one who hated it, weirdly enough." Fluffy grinned. "I think that makes me special."

"Oh, don't be so full of yourself, that would hardly make you special," Sir Majestic Tail said, earning him a glare from Fluffy. "While not very common, it's not unheard of for feral pokémon to wish to join society. I'd think it insanity if even the _least _civilized pokémon didn't understand that mystery dungeons are atrocious places to live."

"Hey, fuck you!"

"No need to be rude!" Sir Majestic Tail berated. Then he put on a thoughtful look. "I suppose, however, it can be admitted that there _is_ something uncommon about your attitude. You have a sort of...persistence that's rare in most explorers, let alone ferals. If you work on that rudeness of yours, perhaps learn a little tact, you _could_, theoretically, become a great explorer someday."

Despite the backhanded nature of the compliment, Fluffy felt a thrill of excitement. She hopped back up on her hooves, suddenly energetic enough to run a marathon.

"Why wait for someday? Let's start now!"

Sir Majestic Tail shook his head, but she could see the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. "It would really do you a world of good to learn some patience, as well. Legends aren't made overnight, you know. But regardless, I agree we've rested long enough. Come along."

He set off at a trot again and Fluffy followed as closely as possible, though she gave his burning tail ample room. Her mind began to wander as they gathered speed, and before Sir Majestic Tail could return to his top galloping speed, she decided to engage in a conversation topic she'd been curious about since she met him.

"Hey, Fire-Butt, there's gotta be explorers out there who are, like, way better than you, right?"

Sir Majestic Tail nearly tripped over his own hooves as he stumbled to a halt. "B-beg pardon?!"

"Okay, not to knock you or anything, but there's no way you're literally the best explorer ever, right?"

Fluffy had never seen another pokémon look so offended. "Wh-what kind of question is that?!" Sir Majestic Tail sputtered, eyes wide. "W-well, _certainly_ there are some pokémon out there of a higher calibre than me - I'd never be so conceited to imply there aren't - but what interest do you have in them? Do you mean to imply I, as a selfless mentor to you, am not up to snuff? Is this truly the treatment I deserve?!"

Fluffy snorted and rolled her eyes. "I like you fine, idiot, I'm talkin' about those legends you mentioned. Y'know, the ones that aren't made overnight?"

That seemed to unruffle Sir Majestic Tail's fur. He cleared his throat as he began walking again. "Well! If you wanted to discuss legendary explorers, you should have been more specific! I do happen to know a great deal on the subject, so you are fortunate to have asked me. Which would you prefer a lecture on? I'm most well-versed on the exploits of Ampharos and Scizor, but that's not to say I couldn't spend days speaking of others such as Gengar, Blastoise, Virizion, and at least two different riolus. Any preference?"

Any eagerness Fluffy may have felt for the mention of an ampharos was overshadowed by the word 'lecture'. She wasn't in the mood to have Sir Majestic Tail prattle on for hours like some intellect, she wanted to be entertained.

"How about you tell me about whoever has the best story?"

"Story?" Sir Majestic Tail echoed, giving her a look. "What, are you a lamb?"

Fluffy pouted. "You've got 'tale' in your stupid name! You _should_ be able to tell a story!"

"It's not the same sort of 'tale', you absurd walking muffin! And anyhow, we don't have time to waste on storytelling if we wish to reach Treeshroud Forest by nightfall."

"Don't gimme that, you just said you could lecture me for days on riolus!"

Sir Majestic Tail opened his mouth to argue further, but he seemed to decide it wasn't worth it. "Fine, but you'd best keep up with me. I don't want us losing ground over some silly story."

"Fine by me!"

Ears folded back in resignation, Sir Majestic Tail sped up into a canter and began to speak. Fluffy grinned and dashed alongside him to listen in.

"If we're talking pure storytelling value, the best legend would be Flame, without a doubt. She was an infernape who lived in the time before there were mystery dungeons."

"Before mystery dungeons?" Fluffy interrupted. "The elder said we've always had mystery dungeons."

Sir Majestic Tail shot her a warning glare. "Please do not cut in, I am telling this story purely for your benefit! Of course mystery dungeons have not always existed. In the far past, after the fall of human civilization, pokémon began to proliferate and take over the land, but during that time there was a general sort of lawlessness. No towns, no explorers, not even so little as language. It was all constant fighting over territory and the like, a genuine dark age for pokémonkind. I'm sure you can imagine how horrendous it all was!"

Fluffy thought on it for a moment. "Sounds exactly like Amp Plains."

"Oh, goodness!" Sir Majestic Tail's face coloured slightly. "Of course, how could I have forgotten? Please excuse my blunder!"

"Whatever, just keep telling the story! When does it get good?"

"Again, that patience of yours needs work. Flame the infernape came along at this time, seeking to make change for the better. She was the first explorer, and the first to take a name other than her species name. Flame travelled the land, mapping out its landmarks, and distributed copies of her maps to as many pokémon as she could reach. Her cartography was primitive at best, of course, and really left much to be desired, but it was all they had at the time. Once pokémon had a sense of where everything was in the world, many flocked together to form communities and towns. Being organized like this allowed them to keep out wrongdoers and those who wished to stir up trouble. Truly, this was the beginning of society as we know it!"

When Sir Majestic Tail had first began the story, he'd sounded as though he'd rather talk about anything else, but now Fluffy could detect thinly-masked enthusiasm in the way he spoke and the way his eyes shone. Though he was trying not to show it, he seemed to be having as much fun telling this tale as Fluffy was listening to it.

"But one day, a great wind blew through the land, cutting across the plains and around the mountains like icy daggers, and with it came great and startling change! The places pokémon had once known and lived in suddenly began to transform into mystery dungeons, where time and space no longer functioned as they should. All pokémon feared these new and terrifying places - all but Flame, of course! When none others dared enter the mystery dungeons, Flame strode in with full confidence to learn their secrets and rescue those who had become trapped within them."

"Even the ferals?" Fluffy asked, panting from the effort of running alongside Sir Majestic Tail. She was hanging on to every word, savouring the story.

"There was only so much Flame could do," Sir Majestic Tail responded, thankfully without berating Fluffy for the interruption this time. "Those who had lost their minds in the dungeons and become feral were beyond saving. As you know, not all is lost for some ferals - but only the rarest few. But that didn't mean Flame didn't do all she could to help them regardless, and she continued to aid civilized pokémon even as she aged and grew too old to explore. You know, it was she who established the first guild to train the next generation of explorers, and since then guilds have been a vital part of society. If not for her, we'd still be living barbarically, in fear of all that is unknown instead of embracing it with open hooves."

He puffed out a low breath and slowed his pace again. A light smile of satisfaction played on his lips as he glanced over at Fluffy.

"There you have it. How was _that_ for a story, hm?"

Fluffy stamped her hooves against the ground in approval, grinning broadly. "Y'know, I was just joking about you being able to tell 'majestic tales', but that was pretty damn good! You oughta quit exploring and become a travelling storyteller instead!"

Sir Majestic Tail blushed openly and waved a leg at her. "Oh, false praise."

"For real!"

"Well." He turned his head away, still red-faced. "I must admit, I'd only be able to tell Flame's story this flamboyantly. She's rather a favourite of mine."

Fluffy quickly put two and two together and her eyes widened in realization. "Ohh, that's why your team's called Team Flame, right? You're named after her!"

"It took a much longer diatribe on her innumerable exploits to sway Bellsprout to the idea - he's not the biggest fan of fire-related imagery, as you can imagine - but he eventually realized my opinion was correct, as it always is."

Fluffy couldn't imagine how anyone could turn down a team name that honoured such a cool pokémon, but then she thought about how Sir Majestic Tail might have presented it to his team. What he could make interesting he could also make dull, and judging by how easily he could be set off on lengthy rants it was highly probable that Bellsprout and Camerupt had only agreed to the name to shut him up.

"Flame really did all that stuff, huh?" Fluffy mused, half to herself. Sir Majestic Tail nodded as proudly as if she'd complimented him instead of a long-dead pokémon of legend.

"Yes. She was certainly the greatest of all explorers."

For a little while after that, the two walked on in relative silence while Fluffy mulled the story over in her head. She couldn't help thinking despite how annoying Sir Majestic Tail's uppity voice sounded, it _did_ lend itself pretty well to tales of grandeur. And since it looked like they still had a ways to go before they reached their destination…

"Hey, you think you can tell me another one of them 'majestic tales'?"

* * *

By the time the pair neared Treeshroud Forest, Fluffy had heard so many stories she was sure her ears would fall off, but they were told with such passion that she wouldn't have minded if the journey had lasted a little longer just so she could hear one more. It was hours later now, and their shadows stretched out long in front of them. Fluffy hoped they would still have enough time in the day to enter the forest. Now that she'd heard so many tales of exploration and discovery, she wanted nothing more than to go on her own adventure in that time-stopped forest that everyone else seemed to be scared of.

"Not long now, Fluffy," Sir Majestic Tail told her, maintaining a steady trot. "You know, while I wasn't quite so sure of this little expedition at first, I must say I'm really starting to have fun." He chuckled. "I can't believe what I'm about to say, but thank you for pressuring me into this."

She gave him a lopsided smile back. "Yeah, no problem, Fire-Butt. Call for me anytime you need to be forced to do something fun, 'kay?"

"If I ever run into you again, I'll be sure to do so," he promised. His expression changed and he almost looked sad. "You know, now that I think about it - "

Whatever he was going to say, Fluffy never heard. Both of them stopped dead in their tracks and thoughts when they saw the entrance to Treeshroud Forest. It wasn't the slowly-creeping lack of colour and shade that extended out from the gap in the trees where the dungeon began, or the overwhelming feeling of nothingness and doom that seemed to resonate from it like a pulsating wave. It was the fact that there was already a pokémon there.

The two looked at each other, then quickly ducked behind a nearby boulder. Fluffy peeked out the side to look at the pokémon. It appeared it hadn't seen them.

"Hey, who's that pokémon?" she whispered to Sir Majestic Tail.

"That's a dusknoir," Sir Majestic Tail whispered back. "What on earth are they doing here…?"

"Probably here to see the forest, same as us." Fluffy started to step out from behind the boulder. "I don't see any point in - "

"Shhh! I think I hear them saying something!"

Begrudgingly, Fluffy hid back behind the boulder and strained to listen. Although the dusknoir was speaking quietly and he was too far away for his words to be clear, she could make out some of what he was saying.

"That blasted...already taken the Time Gear from...if only I knew where...hidden!" There was a pause, then the dusknoir continued, "Searching...this is useless. I must...information on...before it's...come, my sableye..."

Fluffy exchanged a quizzical glance with Sir Majestic Tail. "Did you get any of that?"

"I think he's...looking for something?" the ponyta offered. "Perhaps he's searching for the Time Gear thief!"

"You think?" Fluffy peeked out again to watch Dusknoir. The pokémon was now approaching a group of small, purple pokémon and appeared to be giving them instructions. "He looks kind of creepy to me. What kind of guy says stuff like 'Come, my sableye'?"

"Oh, hush, I see nothing wrong with that sort of phrase!"

All of a sudden, Dusknoir's voice rang out, "Who's there? Come out, intruders!"

Fluffy pressed her back against the boulder, shooting Sir Majestic Tail a wide-eyed stare. "What do we do?!" she hissed.

"Oh, g-goodness, I suppose we'd best show ourselves," Sir Majestic Tail stammered, mirroring her expression. "If he already knows we're here…"

The two cautiously stepped out from their hiding place. The small pokémon around Dusknoir chittered to each other, looking at the pair nervously. Dusknoir, however, looked merely curious.

"You clearly aren't wild pokémon," he observed, approaching them slightly. "What are you two doing so far out in the wilderness?"

Fluffy fluffed up her wool slightly. "We're explorers!" she announced proudly. "We came to see Treeshroud Forest!"

"Is that so?" Dusknoir's single glowing eye flicked from her to Sir Majestic Tail, looking them over. It had a very unnerving effect and Fluffy found herself shrinking back into her fleece as if to escape the scrutiny.

"I suppose it's only natural for pokémon to be curious about what happens when a Time Gear is removed from its correct location," Dusknoir mused. "In fact, that is why I am here myself. Would the two of you perhaps like me to accompany you to the forest's centre?"

"R-really?" Sir Majestic Tail looked nervous. "It wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"No, no, not at all. I was going to venture in myself."

Fluffy bristled. There was something about this pokémon that she didn't like, but she remembered her social etiquette. He didn't _have_ to go with them, but he was offering to, which was a nice thing.

"I..._guess_ we'll come with you," Fluffy said slowly. "Only 'cause you're going in either way."

"Come along, then." Dusknoir turned and floated back to the forest's entrance, raising a hand to the group of purple pokémon. "My sableye underlings will remain out here."

Exchanging an apprehensive look with each other, Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail followed. The sableye parted for them, crystalline eyes glimmering. As soon as Fluffy set foot in the area of grey, she felt a horrible chill go up her spine. The grass completely lacked in temperature and sensation, and the air felt dead. Sound was muted and everything was dark.

She jumped back out and everything went back to normal. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, she went in again. It didn't feel right at all, however, and she found herself shivering despite the lack of cold.

"My, what a horrid sensation!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed, high-stepping as if the ground would corrode his hooves. "It feels so completely...unnatural!"

"No kidding," Fluffy agreed, making a face.

"This is what happens when time ceases to flow," Dusknoir explained, floating on ahead of them. "All movement, all life simply stops. Any pokémon who are caught in the area when the Time Gear is removed are also frozen. You will find no moving pokémon here save for those who entered the area after the initial wave."

"You certainly seem to be knowledgeable on the subject!" Sir Majestic Tail sounded impressed. "Have you visited this location before?"

Dusknoir chuckled. "You could say that."

Once again, Fluffy found that odd, but she didn't comment. Social niceties and all that. Besides, Sir Majestic Tail seemed pretty taken with him. Surely a long-term explorer like him would be a good judge of character.

As they walked, Fluffy looked all around the forest, taking in the sights. The towering trees were all grey and dull, and she could spot paralyzed birds here and there, often frozen in mid-flight. Feral pokémon, too, were frozen in place around them. Fluffy kicked a monotone houndoom to see what would happen, but it didn't respond. The silence was deafening, and Fluffy began to hum quietly to herself just to break it.

"So, er, Dusknoir, sir," Sir Majestic Tail began, trotting to catch up with him, "what business do you have in Treeshroud Forest?"

"I'm glad you asked," Dusknoir replied. "I'm here to investigate these woods and search for clues that point to who has done this great misdeed."

Sir Majestic Tail looked amazed. "So it is your intention to identify the criminal?"

Fluffy, more interested in the conversation than the frozen pokémon and surroundings, picked up her pace to listen in better.

"A crime as serious as the theft of a Time Gear could not have been committed by a simple felon," Dusknoir was saying. "For it to be gone this long, the thief must know exactly what they're doing and is acting with purpose. For that reason, there is a high chance that they will strike again and take yet another Time Gear."

"Why, that's simply reprehensible!" Sir Majestic Tail stamped a hoof angrily. "What reason could anyone have to do such a thing?"

Folding his arms, Dusknoir floated in silence for a moment before replying. "It's beyond unthinkable. To take all the Time Gears would be to cause the paralysis of the planet."

Sir Majestic Tail gasped dramatically, looking faint, but Fluffy just frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that, gradually, as more Time Gears are taken, the areas of frozen time will expand until the entire world is engulfed." Dusknoir's voice sounded grave. "When that happens, the planet will be paralyzed. Day will never come and life will wither."

As serious as that sounded, Fluffy was having a hard time wrapping her head around it. Instead, she focussed on that last detail. "You're some kinda ghost pokémon, right? That whole 'life withering' thing shouldn't matter much to you."

Dusknoir gave her a look of surprise and chuckled again. "My, aren't you the perceptive one!"

"Fluffy, _please_, hush!" Sir Majestic Tail said sharply, glaring. "You are being incredibly impolite to Dusknoir here!"

Dusknoir shook his head, smiling. "No, it's quite alright. You are right that I, personally, would not be as affected by such a thing occurring, but most other pokémon would have their lives completely destroyed by this. Food becoming scarce, society breaking down… It would be cataclysmic. I do not wish for this to happen. As such, I am searching for this thief with great urgency. It is of utmost importance that this event does not come to pass."

"How very altruistic of you!" Sir Majestic Tail gave Fluffy another warning look and she stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

Dusknoir turned to look forward again. "We are nearing the centre of the forest now."

"What, already?" Sir Majestic Tail blinked. "We've scarcely been here an hour."

"When time is frozen in a mystery dungeon, so too is space. The arrangement of paths and rooms forever remains the same as it was when the area became frozen."

Sir Majestic Tail's eyes shone. "Is that so! Why, you're so very knowledgeable! However did you come to learn all this?"

"I can't tell you all my secrets, now, can I?" Dusknoir briefly closed his eye. Fluffy wasn't sure if he'd just blinked or attempted to wink.

The three came to the deepest part of the forest. Here, a ring of trees formed a tight semicircle around a small clearing. Scattered about were upright stone tablets, bearing inscriptions in strange runes. The area looked incomplete, as if there was supposed to be a centrepiece.

"This is it," Dusknoir said. "This is where the Time Gear was taken from."

"Really?!" Sir Majestic Tail looked ecstatic and quickly dashed around, surveying the area. "I'd say it certainly looks like a place of import, but are you certain this is it?"

Dusknoir nodded and pointed to the tablets. "If you were to read these, I'm sure they would bear ancient information on the Time Gear that had been stationed here. Unfortunately, my understanding of the unown runes is limited at best."

Fluffy approached one of the tablets to inspect it. The pieces of stone were thick but only about as tall as she was, and the writing on them looked very foreign. There was something strange about how sharp and precise the symbols looked.

"Who wrote these things, anyways?" she asked, nudging the tablet with a hoof.

"It is said this was the language of the humans," Dusknoir explained. "While they were still numerous in this land, they were said to have built all the ancient ruins we see today. They would have been the original guardians of the Time Gears."

Fluffy shuddered. She didn't know much about humans, but from the tales the elder had sometimes told, she had heard they were tall, hulking beasts with terrifyingly vast intelligence. "What happened to them?"

But Dusknoir was no longer paying attention. He had moved deeper into the circle of trees and was inspecting the area, brushing against the grass with his hand. "Hmm, judging by the way the grass is parted here…"

Sir Majestic Tail trotted over to get a better look and Fluffy joined him. "What are you doing now?" the ponyta asked. Dusknoir motioned at the ground with a hand.

"See how there are imprints left here?" He traced the outline of the two shapes with a finger. "Reports say the Time Gear was stolen on a stormy, rainy night. As you can see, the thief's feet left an imprint on the soft ground, which parted easily beneath their feet. This leaves a clear image of what their footprints look like, as time stopped here right after the Time Gear was removed. That way, the grass never sprang back after it had been trampled on."

"Brilliant deductions!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed. "You really _are_ wise!"

Even Fluffy had to admit she was sort of impressed at this point. "So, can you tell who did it?"

"I believe these prints are clear enough for me to take an educated guess," Dusknoir replied, giving a nod. "Two toes in the front, and a pointed heel… No segmented claws, so we can rule out kadabra and breloom…" He straightened up, looking almost smug. "There's none other it can be. It must have been a grovyle."

"Are you certain?!" Sir Majestic Tail squinted at the footprints himself. "Well, now that you say that, I can see it _does_ look quite similar to a grovyle's footprint! You outdo yourself, Dusknoir! Positively brilliant!"

Dusknoir looked embarrassed by all the praise. "Please, it was nothing major. Just a little sleuthing work, that's all."

"Yeah, well, a little 'sleuthing work' was all you needed to figure out who the thief was," Fluffy pointed out. To her surprise, Dusknoir shook his head.

"No, it is too early to be certain Grovyle really _is_ the thief," Dusknoir said. "I must gather more evidence before I may solidify my claim." He nodded to Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy. "I thank the two of you for accompanying me all this way."

"Oh, goodness, it was our pleasure, Dusknoir sir!" Sir Majestic Tail insisted, swishing his tail about. "And our thanks for informing us about the Time Gears and the workings of time! We shall certainly be keeping a lookout for any suspicious grovyles, now, won't we, Fluffy?"

Giving a shrug, Fluffy replied, "Yeah, sure."

"I shall take my leave now." Dusknoir turned away. "I hope to meet again, you two." Then he sank through the ground and vanished. Fluffy pounced on the space where he just had been, eyes wide.

"Whoa, where'd he go?"

"It's an ability ghost-type pokémon have," Sir Majestic Tail replied, his tone suddenly snappish. "Fluffy, what in _blazes_ were you doing, being so very rude to Dusknoir?! He had been nothing but polite to us, and yet you insisted on being curt and tactless!"

"He was kind of weird, okay?!" Fluffy growled, her fur fluffing up defensively. "What kind of 'good guy' keeps underlings? And what was with this whole investigation thing?! He just knew way too much about everything!"

Too late, she realized she was being too angry and defensive about the situation. Sir Majestic Tail stamped a hoof, his flames rising higher.

"That is _not_ how you treat someone who happens to know more than you! What, were you _jealous_ that he understood more about this world than you could ever hope to understand?!"

"You don't have to make this about me!" Fluffy shot back. "Look, I just think he was acting all weird, but it's fine now 'cause he's gone and we don't have to worry about that anymore, okay?"

Sir Majestic Tail huffed and turned away. "Right, well, we've gone through Treeshroud Forest now, like we said we would. We shall return to the exit and go our separate ways."

Fluffy was speechless. Barely a minute ago, she and Sir Majestic Tail had been on good terms, but now he was acting all cold towards her just because she didn't think as highly of Dusknoir as he did.

"Hey, Fire-Butt, if you like Dusknoir so much then why don't you go ask him to be mates with you!"

That seemed to hit a nerve with Sir Majestic Tail. He whirled on her furiously. "Ex_cuse_ me?!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Fluffy sneered at him, taking a step closer. "You were kissing up to him so much, it'd only be the best next step for you! Then you can be all annoyingly wordy and smart-assy together!"

Sir Majestic Tail's face burned as brightly as his mane. "What do _you_ know, you...you _feral_?!"

The two continued to glare at each other for another moment, muzzles only inches away, before Fluffy finally took a step away again.

"See you never, loser," she growled, then turned and dashed away as quickly as she could. Angry tears stung her cheeks as the monotone landscape rushed past. In this vacuum of sound, she couldn't hear whether Sir Majestic Tail was following her, and she didn't look back, not until she had exited the forest. She stopped by the entrance to catch her breath, then looked back in, eyes straining to somehow catch a glimpse of orange and cream. But she saw nothing. Sir Majestic Tail hadn't followed her.

Fluffy sniffed angrily and marched away. Dusknoir and the sableye, too, were gone by now, and the sun had set at some point, leaving the area in darkness. She was utterly alone in the wilderness. For a while, she wandered aimlessly in the night, wanting to put as much distance as she could between herself and the forest, but she soon had to stop and rest. Her entire body was exhausted from the long journey and the trip through the forest and she wanted nothing more than to lose consciousness so she wouldn't have to think about what had happened anymore.

She eventually located a shallow cave at the base of a rocky mountain. She walked right in and found herself a place on the bare floor to settle down. It was too quiet here without any roommates and she couldn't fall asleep. Miserably, she pulled her explorer badge from her new bag and rubbed a hoof along it.

Who was she kidding, she wasn't a real explorer. She had just stolen this from someone who was and tried to pretend she had even a smidgen of a clue about what she was doing. She couldn't even keep a single friend.

Maybe she was better off being a feral, after all.

* * *

**They're definitely never going to see each other again.**

**In other news, I'm 99% sure I've surmounted my writer's block and the next chapter _will_ be coming out on time! And thanks for 20 reviews, guys! I'd have a much harder time pushing through writer's block if it wasn't for your support. See you again next week!**


	11. Chapter 11: cyndaquil

**Y'all oughta be grateful. I'd gotten dressed in my pyjamas, I'd made myself a nice tea for the night, and I'd set my alarms, but just as I was climbing into bed, I got the sudden feeling I'd forgotten something. Oh yeah. It's Friday. Again. Crazy how it comes every single week, huh?**

**I thought I'd do some last-minute edits before dropping this chapter, but I'm so goddamn tired it's a miracle I'm even lucid enough to type this intro. Y'know. Letting you in on my weaknesses. You'll know how to defeat me now. I think I'm rambling. I wonder how much I'll regret this in the morning? But punctuality sense. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

The members of Wigglytuff's Guild were assembled in the crew room in three neat lines. There was excited whispering among them as they waited for Chatot and Guildmaster Wigglytuff to emerge from the office. Today was the day that the members for the highly-anticipated guild expedition would be announced and though nearly everyone wanted to appear quiet and obedient - as if it would make a difference once the members were chosen - they couldn't help but speculate and gossip.

Even Team Skull, who stood a little ways off to the side, appeared to be getting caught up in the anticipation. Zubat, Koffing, and Skuntank were all murmuring under their breaths to each other while grinning nastily in the direction of individual guild members; most likely, they were talking about who they thought would be cut from the roster.

Flame did her best not to look at them. She could feel their eyes burning into her fur but she was determined not to give them a reaction. Not that it would matter at this point. They'd made very certain she'd ended up being least likely to be chosen for the expedition.

For the four days they'd been at the guild, Team Skull seemed to be doing their best to torment her whenever and however possible. As if it wasn't bad enough that they'd temporarily taken over her room, forcing her to stay in the spare room, Flame had had to endure numerous thinly-veiled insults flung at her under the guise of compliments or friendly advice, all while Team Skull moved up the social ranks by acting like a model team and taking some of the toughest job requests on the boards.

The worst misdeed came after the guild's entire stock of food _mysteriously _vanished one night and Flame was tasked by Chatot to retrieve some 'perfect apples' from Apple Woods for the Guildmaster. She had barely reached the centre of the dungeon where the single perfect apple tree grew when she was jumped by Team Skull and knocked out by a powerful blast of fumes from both Koffing and Skuntank. When she came to, all the apples were gone, leaving her to report back to the guild empty-handed.

Of course, just as Wigglytuff was about to lose it in a frightening repeat of his ground-shaking, placid-faced tantrum from the day Team Skull joined, Skuntank swaggered in and delivered him a coveted perfect apple. Chatot furiously berated Flame, Skuntank was praised, and Flame went to bed hungry as punishment.

However, there was one thing that Flame couldn't understand. While the three purple-toned members of Team Skull seemed to revel in Flame's misery, the pikachu always stood to the side, present but not participating. She never made a move to stop her teammates, but she didn't join in on the mockery. Even now, as Zubat whispered something in Julia's ear while snickering, she merely nodded and continued to stare vacantly out one of the windows. Flame tried to catch her eye, but if Julia noticed her she made no indication of it.

The bullies Flame could tolerate, even if they made her feel like a cyndaquil-shaped piece of trash. But Julia? She was an enigma, and it bothered Flame more than it reasonably should.

Suddenly, the doors of Wigglytuff's room opened and the Guildmaster and his second-in-command came through. The whispering died down instantly as Chatot took his place before the guild's members to address them.

"Thank you all for your patience," he began. "At this point, the Guildmaster has made his decisions about which members shall come on the expedition and which shall stay behind. It took quite a bit of prompting…" He took a moment to give an irritated sigh. "...but he has now written down the names of the participants on this sheet of paper." Chatot pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper and unfolded it. "When I call out your name, please come and stand next to us over here."

With that distraction dealt with, Chatot began to read out names from the list.

"First up is Sunflora!"

Sunflora gave an excited little jump. "Oh my gosh, I've been chosen!" she squealed. She skipped over to where Chatot was and turned back to face the rest of the group.

"Next is Loudred!"

"Ha, I KNEW I'd be going!" Looking pleased, Loudred joined Sunflora on the other side.

"Then there's Corphish and Diglett…"

The two exchanged elated looks and went to stand with the others. Chatot squinted down at the paper to read the last few names.

"Annnnnnd finally we have Bidoof!"

Bidoof looked floored. "G-golly, Guildmaster Wigglytuff wants me to come along?! Shucks…I've never felt so honoured!"

"Congrats, Bidoof," Flame whispered to him, half-smiling. "You deserve it."

"And that's that!" Chatot said, flapping his wings briskly. "Those are all the members who will be coming on the expedition!"

Though Flame already knew this outcome, it was hard not to feel disappointed. She had been just as excited about the possibility of going on the expedition as everyone else was. From the side, she could hear Team Skull chuckling among themselves and she shrank down, wishing she could disappear.

"Now, then, those of you who have been chosen should - " Chatot cut himself off as he took another look at the paper and he frowned. "Just a moment, I think there may be another few names in the margin here…?" He brought the parchment closer to his face until his beak was practically touching it. "It seems that...Dugtrio, Croagunk, Chimecho, and Flame are also to come along?"

Flame perked up suddenly. Her name was on the list, too?

"Guildmaster, with all due respect…" Chatot waved the paper in Wigglytuff's face. "This is everyone in the guild! What was the point of the selection process if you were just going to bring everyone along?!"

Wigglytuff smiled and bounced on his heels. "Because it'll be the most fun! Imagine, Chatot, everyone going and having fun exploring together? I couldn't just break up the team!"

"What about the guild?!" Chatot insisted, growing more agitated. "We'll be leaving it alone!"

"We can lock it up when we go!" Wigglytuff replied brightly.

Skuntank, whose expression had gone sour, also chimed in, "Don't you think this is altogether too many members? So many pokémon may slow the whole expedition down."

Wigglytuff frowned at her, one of the few times Flame had ever seen his expression be anything but smiley. "Because we're all friends here, of course! The speed of travel shouldn't matter as much as having fun and being with other people you like, don't you think?"

Skuntank glared down at the floor. "S'pose so," she grumbled.

With that matter settled, Chatot cleared his throat to direct attention back to him. "While this may be unexpected, if it's what the Guildmaster wishes, it's what we're doing. With a group this large, we will have to split up into teams."

He pointed a wing at Sunflora, Loudred, Corphish in sequence. "You three will form group one," he told them. "Group two will be made up from Chimecho, Dugtrio, and Croagunk, and group three will be Diglett, Bidoof, and Flame."

"We're gonna be in a team together!" Bidoof said to Flame excitedly. "I'm mighty glad Wigglytuff wants everyone to come along! I would've missed you, by golly."

Flame nodded, feeling truly enthusiastic for the first time since she'd joined the guild. "Me, too!"

"Team Skull will travel together," Chatot went on, nodding to them. "I hope you will find that an agreeable arrangement."

"No complaints here," Skuntank replied, shooting Flame a stink-eye. Flame found that she didn't care at all.

"And that just leaves me and Guildmaster Wigglytuff." Chatot looked back at Wigglytuff, who was now dancing around and singing to himself. "The two of us will be travelling together. Won't that be lovely?"

Wigglytuff abruptly stopped dancing and made a face. "Awww, I have to travel with _Chatot_? That's so _boring_!"

Chatot looked affronted. "I beg to differ! It is a perfectly simple - hhg!"

As he had been making a rebuttal, Wigglytuff had scooped him up into his arms and began to nuzzle him while continuing to look mock-upset. "I don't wanna! You're so boring and awful!"

"G-Guildmaster!" Chatot squeaked out, trying desperately to get free. "P-please, not in front of the guild members - !"

Flame's face turned red from second-hand embarrassment and she looked away. It wasn't like Wigglytuff's and Chatot's particular..._friendliness_ with each other was any secret, but _gods_, was it awkward to witness. Not everyone in the guild seemed to think so, however; Sunflora cooed at the display and Bidoof was clearly trying not to laugh.

After Chatot had disentangled himself, he cleared his throat again, trying to regain the guild's attention. "W-well, then, we shall be setting out this morning! So you are all aware, there is a mountain range between here and Foggy Forest that we will need to traverse. You will all have some time before we leave, so be sure to fully prepare for the journey ahead!"

With that, the guild members dispersed. Bidoof turned to Diglett and Flame, his eyes glimmering.

"So, the three of us get to travel together!" he said. "We oughta stock up on oran berries and orbs before we go!"

"I think I have some in storage we could share," Diglett offered. "Meet you in town?"

"Yup yup, meet you there!"

Diglett disappeared below ground and Bidoof made for the ladder. "Coming, Flame?"

"Yeah!" Flame began to follow him, then paused. Team Skull were still on this level, discussing their planned route amongst themselves. Julia seemed immersed in the discussion, but she glanced back at Flame as she passed. For a moment, their eyes met, and Flame began to open her mouth to say something. Before she could think of anything to say, however, Julia hastily looked back away.

Flame felt her insides knot up. Why was she so interested in the pikachu? She was a jerk, just like the rest of Team Skull. Feeling unsettled, she turned and followed Bidoof up the ladder.

* * *

The journey over the mountains seemed to take forever. The climb was difficult and the different cave paths kept leading Flame, Bidoof, and Diglett around in circles. Not only that, the feral pokémon in the area were tougher than any Flame had ever had to face before. Night eventually fell and they agreed to stop and rest until morning came. The hard, rocky ground ensured Flame barely got a wink of sleep, and even Bidoof was complaining about feeling sore come morning. Only Diglett seemed to be happy with napping on the mountain, though since he hid underground to sleep Flame had no idea what it was like for him down there.

By the time they finally cleared the mountain range, Flame was about ready to pass out again. The pokémon of the mountains hadn't been kind to her and her two teammates and their combined stock of healing foods was almost entirely used up. As the three carefully picked their way down the last stretch of rocky ground, Flame noticed a fog was beginning to set in. As they drew closer to the base camp, the fog increased in density until it became nearly impossible to see through it at all.

"Golly, this fog sure is something, yup yup!" Bidoof said from the front of the group. "I can hardly see a thing!"

"Looks like they don't call it Foggy Forest for nothin'." Diglett popped under the ground and tunnelled ahead a ways before returning to the other two. "Base camp's just ahead! And it looks like everyone else is already there!"

Flame exchanged a sheepish glance with Bidoof. So much for being the fastest team. "We'd better hurry up, then!" she said.

The three headed over as quickly as they could, narrowly avoiding trees that seemed to suddenly spring out of the fog at them. True to Diglett's word, when they reached the clearing filled with wigglytuff-styled pink sleeping tents, the rest of the guild were already present, pacing around the clearing anxiously or sitting around in groups to talk. The moment Flame, Bidoof, and Diglett came into the collective view of the other pokémon, the clearing was filled with relieved sighs and demands of "What took you so long?!"

"Oh my gosh, are you guys okay?" Sunflora asked, rushing over to check on them. "You weren't showing up, and we started to think you, like, got lost or hurt, and I was so worried I almost went back to get you and - "

"Aw, shucks, thanks for bein' all concerned for little ol' us," Bidoof said, blushing, "but we're alright! Just took us a little extra while to come over here, oof…"

"A _little_ extra while?!" Chatot echoed. He hopped over to them, looking ruffled. "We've already been here since last night!" He indicated the tents with a wing. "Try not to hold us up any longer, would you?"

Flame cringed. "Sorry, Chatot," she mumbled.

Chatot didn't respond and instead flew back towards the forest's mouth. "Gather round, pokémon!" he called out.

Everyone scurried over, eager for the expedition to _really_ begin. Team Skull, who had been lounging about near the entrance to begin with, didn't change position except to shoot nasty looks at Flame. Julia, once again, didn't partake in the passive-aggressive gesture and only gave Flame a brief glance before looking back at Chatot.

"Now that everyone is here - finally - " Chatot began, looking pointedly at Flame's group, "we may begin our exploration of Foggy Forest. As you can see, the amount of fog in the area will make traversing the forest and locating Fogbound Lake both very difficult tasks. It is highly likely that it is the unnatural amount of fog that has allowed Fogbound Lake to elude discovery for so many years. As such, finding a way to clear the fog is another objective we should work towards. Any questions?"

Corphish raised a pincer in the air. "Hey hey hey, there's something else I've heard about this place! There's a rumour that pokémon have actually found the lake in the past, but had their memories erased, hey hey!"

There were a few murmurs of concern, but nobody sounded seriously worried. Corphish was prone to believing any old rumour or conspiracy theory, and this comment was hardly out of line for him. However, Flame couldn't help but notice Julia's expression change completely. Her normally-impassive face took on a look of mingled shock and curiosity, and her ears perked up in interest. Flame couldn't imagine why such a claim would pique her interest, as the rest of Team Skull didn't seem to react all that much, but she didn't have long to think about it as her attention was redirected back to Chatot, who had cleared his throat loudly.

"Very well, Corphish, we will keep that in mind," he said, his voice sounding doubtful. "Now, then, pokémon, remain in your groups and set off as soon as you're ready! Look for Fogbound Lake as well as some way to clear the fog! And please, do try not to cause too much trouble!"

The guild cheered and almost everyone set off immediately. Chatot headed back over to where Wigglytuff was juggling perfect apples off to the side, seemingly oblivious to the world around him, and Flame turned to Bidoof and Diglett.

"What do you think, guys? Should we go now, too?"

Bidoof glanced from the entrance of the forest to Flame, then shrugged. "Don't see any reason to hold it off if we're rested enough! We don't want everyone to outdo us, do we?"

"No way!" Diglett agreed. "Let's hurry up and be the ones who find Fogbound Lake first!"

The three approached the entrance to the forest, passing Team Skull. Skuntank gave Flame a faux-pleasant smile.

"Good luck in there," she said slowly, her tail flicking about. "Hope you don't get too lost!"

She and her two flying lackeys laughed, prompting Flame to hurry up. She didn't bother looking at Julia's reaction. If Team Skull weren't going to care about her, she should reasonably return the favour.

The fog seemed to instantly become thicker once Flame set foot in the forest. She could barely see her teammates ahead of her and she hurried to keep up. If she lost sight of them, there was no way she'd ever locate them again! In her haste, she didn't notice the ground ahead of her and tripped over something. She faceplanted painfully, then got up and shook herself off. There was something by her feet that the other teams somehow hadn't noticed in the milky fog.

"Hold on, guys, I think I found something!" Flame called out. Her two teammates came hurrying back to look.

"What _is_ that?" Bidoof asked, peering at it.

"Looks like some kind of gem," Flame replied. It couldn't be called big by any means, but it was larger than her fist. It was faceted and a beautiful red colour. Curious, Flame bent down to pick it up.

Julia immediately noticed that the gem felt warm against her paws. She turned it over, inspecting it. It glimmered slightly in the dim, foggy light.

All of a sudden, she felt lightheaded. She dropped the gem and clutched at her head, trying not to stagger and fall over. For a moment, her vision went black.

"_Yes, that's it! If we place the drought stone there, in Groudon's heart...it should clear the fog! Good work, partner!"_

Julia blinked and she could suddenly see again. She was sitting on the ground, the gem by her feet. She shook her head and unsteadily got up. What _was_ that? She'd blacked out, then heard a voice? She looked down at the gem, frowning. Had this thing made her have some sort of weird vision? Or was it just a snippet of a dream?

She cautiously picked it up again, but felt no ill effects this time. It was weird; first that weird feeling of familiarity, and now this? Something very strange was going on here.

"Hey, Pikachu! Pick up the pace!"

Skuntank's voice echoed from further down the path and Julia quickly stuffed the gem in her bag before hurrying over. The rest of Team Skull were waiting for her.

"Sorry, Skuntank," Julia said. "Are we still proceeding with the plan?"

Grinning, Skuntank replied, "Unless you've got a better one. Come on, if we don't hurry along those guild idiots might actually find Fogbound Lake first."

"No way we gonna let 'em get the treasure before us!" Zubat sneered. "'Em dummies don't deserve no

The pokémon here were even tougher than the ones in the mountains, however, and she was grateful for the backup her teammates provided. It was difficult keeping track of them in the fog, and more than once one or more of them accidentally wandered off a ways without realizing it. Despite this, the group was staying together relatively well, and Flame felt like they were making great progress.

That was, however, until she lost them.

It took her several minutes to realize she hadn't heard from either Bidoof or Diglett in a while, and when she turned around she was alarmed to find they weren't following behind her.

"Bidoof?" she called out, whipping her head around. "Diglett? Where did you guys go?"

Besides the distant hoots and calls of feral pokémon, the forest was silent. Not even the air moved.

"Guys, c'mon, where are you?" Flame was beginning to panic and she had to fight to stay calm. "Don't tell me you just...wandered...off…"

Her voice went quiet as she trailed off. No one was coming. They went off on their own and left her here. She was completely alone.

Her breathing picked up and she turned and ran blindly, desperately looking around for any sign of Diglett or Bidoof - or any guild member, for that matter. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be on her own. Everyone else would find Fogbound Lake and then they'd all go home and she'd be trapped here forever. She'd have to go feral and live in the woods like a savage.

The trees loomed tall and thick around her on all sides. Flame couldn't tell if she was even still on the path of the mystery dungeon or lost in the thick of the trees. Everything looked the same around here. Her chest grew tight and she was starting to struggle to breathe. She dropped onto all fours, trying to stave off the panic attack she was sure she was about to have. The fog, the foliage, the deafening silence… It was closing in on her on all sides, the pressure threatening to crush her.

She put her paws over her head, trembling violently. Faintly, she could hear the great, lumbering stomps of some feral pokémon - she couldn't dare to hope it could be Loudred, even _he_ didn't make so much noise when he walked - but she couldn't move. She couldn't stand this suffocating solitude anymore. Pressure built behind her eyes but her throat was too tight for her to even let out a sob. The heavy footfalls drew nearer, and yet she could only draw into herself closer…

"Flame, move!"

Flame blinked up in time to see a yellow-and-purple blur shoot out of the fog and strike a nearby tree with a blast of electricity. The tree roared in fury and began whipping back and forth, possibly in an attempt to hit its attacker.

No, that wasn't right. There was no such thing as moving trees. Flame suddenly realized what she was seeing and tried to stand to get away, only to promptly fall on her back. A massive torterra loomed in front of her, thick foliage growing on its sturdy shell, and striking it over and over again with tackles and bolts of electricity was none other than Julia.

She whipped her head over to Flame, her eyes burning with adrenaline. "The hell are you waiting for?! Run!"

"I…" Flame managed to choke out. Her legs weren't working. No matter how hard she tried to get up and run away, her body simply refused to respond. Julia seemed to understand and stopped attacking the torterra to dash over, grab Flame by the paw, and sprint away, dragging her out of the way of danger. Flame yelped in surprise, but somehow found her footing and ran along with Julia.

The pikachu was a good deal faster than Flame. Keeping up with her was a struggle, but the sound of the torterra crashing along behind them was a good motivator to keep running. Eventually, the sounds of giant-tortoise-made destruction quieted down. Julia began to slow her pace, checking behind their backs to make sure the torterra really was gone, then stopped to catch her breath. She let go of Flame's paw, and Flame realized for the first time just how tightly Julia had been gripping it.

"Um…" Flame began tentatively, looking at the ground. "Thanks for saving me." Now that they were stopped, she could catch a faint whiff of Skuntank's aroma clinging to Julia. Less concentrated, the scent wasn't actually so bad.

Julia didn't respond to her thanks, but she was looking Flame full-on for the first time since the day Flame had met her. "What are you doing separated from your group?" Julia asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Julia gave a little snort. "Okay, I guess that was a redundant question," she said. "You got lost. _We_ got lost."

Flame managed a nervous chuckle. "Y-yeah, I guess so." She expected an awkward silence to follow that - this _was_ the first time the two were really talking - but Julia continued speaking.

"The forest is too dangerous for us to go alone. We'd better stick together until we find our way out of here."

"I - I guess so." This was too weird. Flame wouldn't have expected Julia to want to help her at all after what had happened in Beach Cave. "Why...are you being nice to me?"

A look of alarm briefly came over Julia's face. "I'm not about to leave you alone here."

Flame crossed her arms. "You didn't have a hard time leaving me alone last time."

"Last time, you weren't miles away from civilization in a dangerous mystery dungeon," Julia pointed out. "Look, it's - it's different. It's a different situation." She beckoned Flame with a paw and began walking. Frowning, Flame followed.

Now was when that awkward silence set in. Neither Julia nor Flame seemed to be keen on initiating conversation and only spoke to warn each other of approaching ferals. Though Flame didn't want to admit it, the two of them made a pretty good team. Their respective attacks complimented each other, and any pokémon Julia had difficulty taking down Flame took care of and vice versa. Julia paused every so often to make sure Flame was still following, but Flame wasn't about to get lost again and as such she always stayed close by.

Eventually, the trees began to thin out and the ferals became less numerous. At the same time, the fog grew even denser. It felt almost like walking through a curtain of lukewarm snow, and Flame found her breathing becoming constricted again. Julia looked back with narrowed eyes when Flame slowed down, clutching at her chest.

"Hey, don't break down on me here," Julia said, putting a paw on Flame's shoulder. "It's just a bit of condensation. It's not gonna kill you."

Flame nodded, swallowing thickly. She was beginning to pick up on two sounds as they continued on. One was the sound of rushing water, though the fog obscured her vision so badly she couldn't tell what the source was. The other sound was that of voices just down the path.

"I think I hear the others!"

She began to run ahead, and Julia ran with her. Soon, the forms of Corphish, Sunflora, and Loudred came into view through the fog. Flame felt a pang of disappointment that it wasn't Bidoof or Diglett, but she was relieved to see anyone from the guild.

"I just don't GET it!" Loudred was saying, gesticulating with his arms. The group was turned away from Flame and Julia and appeared to be looking at something. "This is all just a bunch of ancient MUMBO-JUMBO!"

"Hey hey, it's gotta mean _something_!" Corphish scuttled back and forth, thinking. "Hmm, the rumours didn't say anything about this…"

Sunflora was the first to notice the newcomers and she squealed. "Oh, Flame! And Pikachu, too! You caught up!" She frowned past them into the mist. "Where are the rest of your groups?"

Flame was about to admit they'd gotten lost when Julia said for her, "We were separated from them. They're probably still in the woods somewhere."

While it meant roughly the same thing as, 'We got lost,' the phrasing of that response made the two of them sound less incompetent, and Flame briefly wondered if Julia's role among her team was 'designated smooth-talker'.

"Sure hope they're not hurt, hey hey," Corphish said, looking only vaguely worried. "But hey, check out this statue! Maybe you two'll have an idea about it!" He made a face. "An idea that _isn't_ beyond stupid, that is."

He moved aside for Flame and Julia to walk over. In front of them, looking menacing in the fog, was a great stone statue of some sort of pokémon with a stocky body, sharp claws, and an armour-plated back. The statue looked worn, and it was slightly sunken in the ground, giving it a lopsided appearance. It stood on a stone pedestal on which there appeared to be some writing.

Corphish let out a curt, impatient sigh. "These are ancient footprint runes, but lucky for all of you, I've studied the runes and know exactly what this says!"

Loudred crossed his arms. "Didn't you say you DON'T understand what it MEANS? What's the POINT of being able to read the runes if it isn't HELPFUL in any way?"

"You shouldn't be talking!" Corphish snapped, waving his pincers around. "You've been complaining this whole journey!"

"YOU shut up, too, you HYPOCRITE!"

"Guys, oh my gosh, let's not start this up again!" Sunflora interjected, coming between the tho of them. "Like, this arguing is helping even _less_, okay? Corphish, just read out the plaque again already!"

Corphish nodded and headed over to the statue. "'Reignite the life that burned within Groudon - then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat - the path to treasure will be revealed.' It's clearly some kind of riddle, but who knows what it means, hey hey!"

Flame, who had stayed quiet to let the other guild members talk, now asked, "So...what's Groudon?"

"This here statue is of a pokémon called Groudon." Corphish gestured to the statue. "A massive legendary, said to have shaped the continents!"

"Sounds like BUNK to me," Loudred muttered. Sunflora lightly smacked him upside the head.

This wouldn't be an easy puzzle. Flame walked around the statue, trying to see if there was anything that seemed off about it. Then she noticed something strange about the chest of the pokémon depicted in stone.

"Hey, it looks like there's a hole in its chest!" she said, taking a step back to view it better. The other three guild members crowded in to see.

"Oh my gosh, you're right!" Sunflora squeaked. "Like, how did we miss that?"

"Groudon's heart…"

Everyone looked back at Julia, who was staring up at the statue with an odd look on her face.

"Did you say something?" Corphish asked.

Julia didn't respond. She simply walked forwards past them and put a paw against the statue, still staring at it strangely. A moment later, she scrunched her eyes up tight and swayed unsteadily.

"A-are you alright?" Flame approached her cautiously and put a paw on her back. Julia shook her head as if to clear it and looked back at her, eyes narrowed.

"You didn't hear that just now, did you?"

Flame cocked her head. "Hear what?"

Julia's voice grew more insistent. "There was - someone was talking just now! Right after I touched the statue!"

"That mighta been me, hey hey," Corphish said, sounding slightly hesitant. "Look, if you're not feeling okay, maybe you should head back to base camp."

"Oh no, she's hearing the voices of the dead!"

"No, no, I'm not - " Julia's ears perked up and she began to dig through her bag. "Hang on, there's something in here that might - where the heck is - "

Now Flame was definitely feeling concerned. It was strange to see the normally-placid pikachu look so upset, especially after all that had happened today already. Julia, apparently not having found what she was looking for in her bag, whipped her head around.

"I...must've dropped it." Her ears drooped slightly. "Damn."

"What did you lose?" Flame asked.

"It was - it was this red gem, I think it might've been the key to figuring this statue thing out."

Confused, Flame pulled the faceted gem out of her bag. "You mean this one?"

Julia looked like she had just been slapped. "Wh. Where did you find that."

"Ooh, that's a gorgeous gem!" Sunflora came in closer to look at it. "Where _did_ you find it, Flame?"

Flame shrank down under the attention. "Uh, near the entrance to the forest. It was just lying around and I tripped over it."

"But...you entered Foggy Forest before we did…" Julia looked dumbfounded for some reason. Flame gave her an odd look.

"Uh...yeah?"

For another moment, Julia was silent, staring at Flame in disbelief. Then she shook her head again and held out a paw. "Give it to me. I think I know how to solve this puzzle."

Flame paused, looking from the gem to Julia suspiciously. She'd already been mugged by the pikachu once and she wasn't so keen on handing over more of her belongings. On the other hand, Sunflora, Loudred, and Corphish were also here, and if Julia tried anything sneaky they'd be right there to stop her. Besides, if Julia had any idea how to solve the riddle, it would be worth it to lend her the gem.

"Be careful with it," Flame said as she handed it over. Julia gave a curt nod, then tucked the gem under her arm and clambered awkwardly up the statue with her three unburdened limbs.

"What is she DOING?" Loudred demanded, but before anyone could give him an answer, Julia shoved the gem into the cavity in the statue's chest and a blinding light filled Flame's field of view. Sunflora shrieked, Corphish and Loudred both gave startled yells.

A few seconds later, the light died down and Flame could see again, albeit with spots swimming in front of her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that it was still really, really bright out. Then she realized that was because the fog, which had been obscuring the sun as well as their surroundings, had somehow been lifted.

"Whoa, Julia, you did it!" Flame exclaimed, looking around their new surroundings. Vaguely, she heard Corphish ask who "Julia" was, but she was no longer paying attention to her guildmates. Even they were quiet now, casting their gazes around.

"Oh my gosh…" Sunflora murmured, looking as awestruck as Flame felt.

"THAT explains why no one ever found the lake," Loudred said, his voice actually quiet for once.

On either side of the explorers, spaced a great distance apart, were two waterfalls falling freely from the sky. Looking up, it was revealed that the waterfalls were cascading off the edge of a massive basin of stone far, far above them. All around the structure were more waterfalls that all flowed together into long, thick streams that snaked along the ground in twisting patterns. The basin met the earth at its lowest point, balancing on a narrow spire of rock. It was like staring at a huge, upside-down mountain.

"Up there…" Flame said quietly, her eyes wide with amazement. "...that's where Fogbound Lake is."

* * *

**And that's it for this chapter! Things continue to come together! But will they stay together? Who knows. I'm too tired to be clever. See you next week.**


	12. Chapter 12: Pikachu

**Brief hiatus over! We're back in action, folks! Now you may be realizing this chapter is being uploaded on a Saturday instead of a Friday (unless you're reading this in the future when everything's uploaded, in which case hello from the past! Did everything turn out okay? Haha, don't tell me). I only remembered late last night that I had to upload this chapter, but after the editing disaster that was the last chapter, I decided not to risk it again. But not to worry, I've worked the little "glitch" from Chapter 11 into the overall story. Editing mistake? What editing mistake? This is all intentional.**

* * *

Julia craned her neck up to look at the vast structure above her. So _that_ was Fogbound Lake. She stepped down from the Groudon statue with the intent of getting a better look at the visible underbelly of the lake, but her eyes were instead drawn to that gem in the statue's chest. The 'drought stone', as the voice had called it. It had certainly lived up to its name; the air, which had before been thick with condensation and humidity, was now much more dry and arid. Somehow, the drought stone had cleared away all the fog, just by being placed in the statue's chest.

And, apparently, it had also teleported from Julia's bag to Flame's.

That still baffled her. She could brush it off as some kind of magic gem that could give people prophetic visions and move about at will, but touching the statue had also given Julia a vision. It was less of a vision and more of a voice-on-a-black-backdrop, mind you, but it had continued the dialogue the drought stone had started. Judging by the reactions the others had given her, hearing voices like that was definitely not a normal pokémon thing. All of this, combined with the pervasive feeling that she had somehow been here before...

Either something really weird was going on here, or Julia was starting to lose it. She'd bet on the latter.

"Hey hey hey, this is incredible!" Corphish exclaimed, scuttling about in an excited circle. "We have to go back and report this to Chatot! He'll want to send the whole guild out here to see this!"

"Good thinking!" Sunflora agreed. She turned to Flame and Julia and said, "You two stay here while we go get Chatot, 'kay? But don't go on ahead without us!"

"YEAH, you guys just keep WATCH!" Loudred pointed two fingers at his eyes, then at Flame and Julia. "STAY PUT."

Flame laughed nervously. "Wouldn't dream of ditching you guys," she said. "Uh, can you keep an eye out for Bidoof and Diglett on the way back?" In a mumble, she added, "I hope they aren't _too_ lost…"

"You can count on us!" Sunflora winked. "Be back in a jiffy!" The three hurried back towards the woods and were soon out of sight.

Julia frowned and looked back at the statue. She was still trying to figure out what had happened, or discern who had been speaking. When she placed her paw against the base of the statue now, nothing happened. No dizzy spell. What had triggered it, then?

"Hey, Julia…" Flame was giving Julia a nervous, apprehensive look. Julia sighed. Of course the cyndaquil was going to want to know what the hell just happened, too. She was too curious for her own good.

"Before you ask, I have no idea," Julia said flatly. "About anything." She considered whether it was worth it to try to explain herself. If she didn't say anything, however, Flame would probably just assume she was crazy. "Touching that dr - statue gave me a sort of vision. A voice was saying what to do with the stone. I don't know why that happened."

For a moment, Flame said nothing. She was staring at Julia as if trying to determine whether she was being serious or just messing with her. Julia decided to fill the silence.

"You don't have to believe me. All that matters is that it worked."

"I wasn't going to say - " Flame began, but she cut herself off when someone sauntered onto the scene from where they were hidden in a nearby bush.

"Would you look at that. We've got the little pussy surrounded."

"Skuntank?" Julia asked, her eyes widening. From the bush flew out Koffing and Zubat, who moved to join Skuntank. "When did you guys get here?"

"A bit before you did," Koffing replied, grinning. "We were gonna wait for them guild losers to solve the whole fog thing, but then you went and did it for 'em!"

"Who needs a dumb guild when ya got one a' you!" Zubat added brightly. "'Least 'ey're gone now! The bush was gettin' _real_ cramped, yaknow!"

Julia couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. She needn't have worried about her companions. With Skuntank around, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves.

"Not all of them are gone." Skuntank stalked over towards Flame, who cowered back. "Looks like one last little scamp here didn't get the memo that this mission belongs to Team Skull."

Voice wavering, Flame retorted, "This isn't _your_ mission! It's f-for the whole guild! We're all gonna share the victory together!"

Skuntank chuckled darkly, prompting Zubat and Koffing to join in with snickers of their own. Laughing at the naiveté of others wasn't really Julia's thing, though, so she simply stayed quiet, looking at Flame evenly.

"You'd be better off leaving now," she advised. "We'll be taking over from here."

Flame jumped away from her, looking betrayed. "Wh-what are you saying?"

Okay, this was just sad. "You _do_ remember how we operate, don't you? Don't tell me you thought we were really coming along just to assist the guild."

"B-but…" Flame looked from Team Skull to Julia. "You helped me! Doesn't that mean something?"

"It _means_ that Pikachu here pitied you!" Koffing cut in. "You should be thankful!"

Flame backed away further. "Why? Why are you nice sometimes and a bully the rest of the time?!"

"You wouldn't understand," Julia said, but even as she said it, she found that she didn't understand it all that much herself. She had defended Flame from the torterra because that was what she and Team Skull did. They looked out for the underdogs, the ones who were being screwed over by the guild-and-team system. Flame was helpless, just like Zubat and Koffing were without the backup of Julia and Skuntank. Why _were _they ganging up on her?

Just as it looked like Flame was about to bolt, Skuntank smoothly stepped in and blocked her exit. "And just where do you think _you're_ going?"

Flame began trembling. "I'm - I'm leaving you guys, like Julia said to. Do whatever you want. I can't stop you and you know it."

Skuntank pulled her teeth back in a nasty grin. "But we're not quite done with you yet, are we, fellas?"

"'E'd just run off 'n tell everyone what we're doing 'ere, wouldn't 'e?" Zubat flitted around Flame in a circle, snickering whenever she cowed back. "We can't have that, now, eh?"

"Hang on." Julia stepped in between Flame and Skuntank, looking calmly to her leader. "She's too weak to be a threat. I doubt she'd even be able to make it back through Foggy Forest on her own."

Zubat seemed to consider that. "Well, I guess you're right, 'e _was_ real weak last time when we..."

Skuntank shot him a glare so sharp it could pierce flesh and he trailed off, moving back to where Koffing bobbed nervously behind Skuntank. With Zubat silenced, Skuntank turned her icy glare on Julia, looming over her menacingly.

"Are you _questioning_ me?" Her voice was dangerously venomous and Julia flinched.

"No, I just...I'm not sure if she's a good target for us," she clarified. "Of course I trust your judgement in the end, but I think - maybe we should reconsider - "

Skuntank narrowed her eyes, then slowly turned her head over to leer at Koffing. "What have you been telling her?" she asked, dropping her volume so she was barely audible. Somehow, this was even more intimidating. Koffing looked like he was trying hard to hide his fear, but it was plainly written across his face.

"W-well, y'see, boss," he stammered, "she didn't have no memory, see, and she didn't really know how exactly the world worked, so, uh, I gave her the full details, an' - "

"Are you trying to pass us off as charity workers, Koffing?" Skuntank was now completely focussed on the poison-type, who was cowering more than Flame was. "Or have you forgotten again what we stand for?"

"I - "

"We're not defenders of the weak, we're not saviours of the pathetic, and we don't show fucking _mercy_ for anyone who gets in our way! We're here to take revenge on the guild and get rich doing it, do you fucking understand me?!"

Koffing deflated under her harsh words and bobbed low against the ground. "I - I know, I'm sorry, boss - "

Looking somewhat satisfied with that response, Skuntank finished, "You should know your goddamn place by now, Koffing. If I find out that you're trying to undermine me for your backwards values one more fucking time, I'll tie your stupid mouth shut, you hear me?"

Julia could scarcely believe what she was seeing. Koffing was getting in trouble for having _morals_?! And why was Skuntank only picking on him? Didn't Zubat share Koffing's opinions? When she looked at Zubat, however, she could see that he was looking just as conflicted and upset as she felt. The pieces clicked together in her mind. Koffing was taking the fall for the both of them, and this likely wasn't the first time he'd done so.

"Now that _that's_ settled…" Skuntank looked back at Julia, sneering. "...out of my way, Pikachu."

Julia felt Flame's trembling forehead pressed against her back, the cyndaquil huddling towards her only defender against Skuntank, and she felt her resolve strengthen. There was no way in _hell_ she was going to let anything happen to Flame. She'd made a mistake the first time. She wasn't going to make it again.

But before the inevitable small-scale war could begin, a large apple suddenly rolled in and came to a stop between the five. They all looked at it, then at each other, confusion replacing whatever other emotions they'd just been feeling.

"Wait for me!"

Team Skull and Flame all parted to make way for Guildmaster Wigglytuff, who dashed in in blind pursuit of the apple, then stopped and gleefully held it up over his head.

"I finally caught you!" he cried out joyfully. "You silly perfect apple, you didn't think you could outrun me, did you?" Still ignoring everyone else present, Wigglytuff began to dance around in circles, humming and bouncing the apple on his head. Skuntank's look of bewilderment quickly melted into apprehension.

"Guildmaster, what on earth are you doing here?!"

Wigglytuff stopped in his dancing and gasped when he laid eyes on her. "Oh, friend! Hello again!" He then seemed to notice everyone else. "So many friends here! This is wonderful! I got my perfect apple back and now I'm surrounded by friendly, friendly friends!"

Julia had no idea what was going on anymore. The tension had been completely diffused by this out-of-nowhere interruption. "Weren't you supposed to be staying at base camp?" she asked.

"Well, I was _supposed_ to stay there," Wigglytuff began, rocking on his heels, "but then I dropped my perfect apple and it started to roll away from me! I chased it alllllll through the woods, and finally ended up here!"

That story was complete bullshit and Julia knew it. She had always assumed Guildmaster Wigglytuff was just some dancing idiot - and Skuntank had certainly made him out to be that way - but now she was starting to suspect there was more to him than meets the eye.

For some reason, this thought made her very nervous.

"Oh, Flame!" Wigglytuff smiled down at the cyndaquil, who was still half-hidden behind Julia. "You're going to go on to Fogbound Lake, aren't you?"

"M-me?" Flame squeaked. "B-but Loudred said - "

Wigglytuff made a 'pbb' noise with his mouth. "Don't listen to that silly Loudred, go ahead! It's not going to explore itself, you know!"

He paused and looked at Julia. For a brief moment, she felt completely exposed and vulnerable, like she was out on the chopping block and he was the executioner. Nothing about his expression had changed, but she felt internal terror as she looked into his bright green eyes. Then the moment passed and he smiled broadly.

"You go ahead with Flame! The two of you can go explore together! Won't that be fun?"

Skuntank began to take a step forward. "It will surely be dangerous, we ought to accompany - "

"I'm sure Pikachu and Flame will be perfectly safe together!" Wigglytuff interrupted, still smiling. He made a shooing motion with his paws at the duo. "Go on! The guild will catch up with you!"

Feeling oddly shaken yet deeply relieved, Julia turned away and began to walk towards the part of the basin where it connected to the ground. Flame didn't hesitate to scramble after her. As she walked, Julia shot a quick glance back. Wigglytuff had resumed dancing with his apple in the way of Skuntank, Zubat, and Koffing. The latter made eye contact with Julia and though there was distance between them now, she could still catch the apologetic look in his eyes. Skuntank, on the other hand, had an expression of thinly-veiled lividity and was staring daggers at Julia. Julia was more than happy to turn away from that and keep walking.

The two soon reached the base to find a large opening in the rock. On the ground around the structure, steam hissed out of open vents and pools of water bubbled. The air was hot and humid and Julia got the feeling her fur would be thoroughly soaked a few minutes into travelling up through this cave.

"Hey, Julia…"

Julia looked back at Flame, who was standing a short distance away. The cyndaquil was hunched over, and like this she looked smaller and more defenceless than ever. It horrified Julia to think that not long ago, she had thought Flame was a good target for a theft.

"I'm sorry."

The words startled Julia and it took her a moment to find her voice. "The hell are _you _sorry for?!"

Flame flinched back and Julia immediately regretted using that tone of voice. "I...I thought you were a nasty pokémon all this time, when really - "

"Hey, don't do this."

Flame blinked at Julia in surprise. "What?"

"Don't apologize to me." Julia rubbed her arm, looking down. "I _was_ nasty to you, okay? I saw that you weren't just another money-loving scammer, and I let Koffing and Zubat - and _Skuntank_ \- just whale on you. That was really shitty of me, and I don't have any excuses." She sighed heavily. "I don't know what I'm doing. I haven't been helping you or anyone here."

Flame bit her lip and also looked away. "Maybe that's true, but…" She offered Julia a small smile. "...I don't think you're really a _bad_ pokémon. You're just a pokémon that did some...not-good things."

Julia gave a short laugh at that. "You think?" She looked back at the cave entrance. "Y'know what, let's forget about that for now. I don't think I give much of a shit about the treasure anymore, but you deserve to be the one to discover it. Let's get you up to Fogbound Lake."

What she said wasn't entirely the truth. The rest of Team Skull may have been eager to snatch the lake's treasure and dash, but Julia hadn't felt all that excited to come here until she had heard what Corphish said about the rumour. It couldn't be a coincidence that pokémon who came here lost their memory _and_ that she felt that she'd already been here. Greater than any treasure was the possibility of somehow gaining information about what had happened to her, and if it came with the bonus of making it up to Flame, it was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

Julia offered Flame a paw, and to her surprise she took it. Flame's paw felt warm, almost like the drought stone but alive. When was the last time Julia had made physical contact with someone who wasn't attacking her or wasn't being attacked _by_ her?

Hand-in-hand, they entered the cave. Almost immediately, Julia was blasted by a rush of hot air and her drenched-in-moisture prediction came true much sooner than she had hoped. Julia led the way through the twisting caverns and Flame followed behind, just like they had done in Foggy Forest. Unsurprisingly, the steam cave was a mystery dungeon, and feral pokémon soon rounded on the pair and mindlessly dove in to attack. Many were fire-types and Julia found herself more and more overheated with each level they ascended. The sweltering heat and humidity slowed her down and from time to time she found herself coming close to passing out. Flame, however, seemed perfectly unbothered by the heat. It made sense; a fire-type was bound to prefer this kind of environment.

Julia found herself surprised at how capable the cyndaquil was when it came to battle. Once Flame became comfortable with the caves and stopped getting spooked every time a magby showed up, she fought with determination and a level of power Julia never would have expected her to possess. It was like she became a completely different person when she wasn't scared. While Julia had noticed this somewhat when they had been traversing Foggy Forest together, it was much more apparent now. It made her think that maybe, if Flame hadn't been quite so afraid when Julia mugged her in Beach Cave, she could've taken out all three with only a few scrapes.

After the two had gotten somewhat used to the dungeon and fallen into a comfortable attack pattern against enemies, Flame decided to initiate conversation. "Hey, Julia, I've been meaning to ask...where did you get your name from?"

Julia chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Aw, you don't know that. Maybe I would."

"You won't, but that's okay. It's a human name. I'm - "

"Wow, a human name?!" Flame sounded incredibly impressed. "That's so cool! How did you end up getting that kind of name?"

Julia shot an exasperated look back at her. "You didn't let me finish."

"Sorry, sorry, it was just...I _had_ to comment, y'know?"

As annoying as Julia had first found Flame to be, her personality was starting to grow on her. "I'm actually a human. I don't know what happened, but I lost my memory when I turned into a pikachu."

"That sounds like something you'd say to try and make me impressed," Flame said doubtfully.

"Toldja you wouldn't believe me."

A feral volbeat approached Julia and Flame but Julia fried it with lightning before it could attack.

"It's not that I _don't_ believe you," Flame said, "it's just that that's really hard to believe! A human, turning into a pokémon? It seems really...unlikely."

There came the distant sound of a roar and both paused to listen. "You heard that, right?" Flame asked.

Julia nodded. "Not sure what _that _was, but it didn't sound friendly." The atmosphere of the cave was beginning to feel a little suffocating. Now she was starting to understand why Flame was having such a hard time in the fog.

They kept moving, fending off ferals left and right. For several minutes, neither spoke, and Julia figured Flame was done with questioning, but the cyndaquil eventually started up the conversation again.

"So...since you said you were a human, what was it like? What do humans really look like?"

Julia thought about it, one ear perking up. "I don't remember much. I lost all my memory when I got here. But I think I can remember what humans looked like. We - they, uh...they're pretty tall, and have thin arms and legs, usually, and I'm pretty sure there's hair on their heads?" The fact that recalling what should have been basic information about her former appearance was this difficult threw Julia for a loop. "Do they really, like, not have humans around here?"

"On another continent, maybe?" Flame looked uncertain. "Nobody's actually seen a human in a long time, though."

"I figured that was the case." Julia thought hard, trying to recall where she might have lived. Her brain still gave her nothing. "Do you believe I'm - was - a human, now?"

"Well...you _do_ seem to know a lot about them," Flame said, frowning. "I don't know why anyone would _want_ to lie about that."

It wasn't a yes, but it was close enough. As Julia and Flame ventured higher and higher in the dungeon, the feral pokémon grew more aggressive. The two lapsed back into silence to focus on fighting, but soon Julia began to pick up on the scent of fresh air. She hurried along a little faster, eager to get out of the heat and steam.

The two emerged out the top of the dungeon into open air and Julia took in deep lungfuls of it hungrily. It was still hot and humid up here, but since it was remarkably less so than it had been inside it was by default infinitely better. Since they had entered the mystery dungeon, the sun had moved down in the sky, and now it cast long shadows against the rocky ground.

"Man, I can't believe we managed to climb up all that way!" Flame exclaimed, somehow still enthusiastic after all that exertion. "But...where's the lake?"

Julia looked around and saw that the lake was, indeed, nowhere in sight. Instead, they had emerged near the edge of the upside-down mountain. Behind them was open air and a long drop to the ground far below, and in front was a narrow path between towering walls of stone.

"If I had to wager a guess," Julia said, "it's past there." She pointed down the path. "I'm sure we're almost there."

Suddenly, another roar sounded, this one much closer and louder than before. Both Flame and Julia jumped and looked around wildly, searching for the source of the noise. The ground trembled, as if a great boulder had been dropped against it, then trembled again. If Julia didn't know any better, she'd assume they came from some giant creature stomping around.

A moment later, Julia learned that she didn't, in fact, know any better, as a giant creature appeared from between the walls of stone and lumbered towards them. It was covered in red plating, and had massive clawed hands and feet. It was like a huge replica of the stone statue far below.

"Oh gods…" Flame squeaked, taking a few steps back.

"Careful, the edge - !" Julia warned. Flame looked behind her, noticed that the edge of the structure they were on was a few yards away from her, and gave another terrified squeak before hurrying to hide behind Julia again.

"YOU TWO. TRESPASSERS." The pokémon's voice boomed, bouncing off the stone walls and amplifying in volume. "YOU WISH TO DESECRATE THIS PLACE. YOU MUST BE DESTROYED."

Julia had to fight to keep her voice steady as she yelled back, "We're not here to desecrate anything! We've just come to see Fogbound Lake!" She decided it was safer to leave the 'and to take the treasure' part out of it.

"YOU LIE! ALL WHO HAD COME TO FOGBOUND LAKE WERE MALICIOUS. ALL WERE ANNIHILATED. YOU SHALL JOIN THEM!"

That voice was starting to make Julia's sensitive ears ring. "Look, we're just explorers! We don't mean any - "

"SILENCE!" The pokémon pulled back a hand, then swiped it down at Julia and Flame. Fortunately, it swung a little wide, and due to its attack being highly-telegraphed, Julia had time to grab Flame around the midsection and leap out of the way with her. There was no chance for rest, however, as the pokémon charged at them again. This time, its striking attack came down right between Flame and Julia, separating them.

"I AM GROUDON! I AM GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE!"

The ground heaved beneath Julia's paws and she fought to stay upright. She feared the force of the earthquake would cause the entire structure to tip on its side and topple, but it appeared to be much sturdier than she had expected.

"Quit attacking us!" Julia yelled. "We're not like those other guys!"

"THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!"

That made too much sense for Julia to argue. Instead, she saved her breath and dashed across the battlefield to scoop up Flame and get her out of the way of danger again. They landed down near Groudon's side, a comparatively safe location to be in for about the next ten seconds while Groudon would have to slowly turn his massive body around to face them again.

"Flame, listen up," Julia said to the very-shaken cyndaquil. "If we want to get out of here alive, we're gonna hafta fight that guy."

"What?!" Flame stepped back, shaking her head. "We can't do that! Look how big it is! It could crush both of us under one foot!"

"I know, I know, but what other choice do we have?" Julia put a reassuring paw on Flame's shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "Look, that guy's a brute, but we can take him. You're strong, Flame, I've seen it. You don't have to be afraid."

Flame swallowed, shaking like a leaf, then her squinted gaze moved past Julia to look behind her. Julia didn't even bother to look and just yanked Flame to the ground. A barrage of rocks smashed against the rock face above them, showering the two with dust and broken chunks of stone. Once again, Julia grabbed Flame and dragged her out of the way of another rock-flinging attack.

"Please, Flame!" she begged, her tone desperate. If they had to stay on the defence and keep dodging attacks like this, Julia would be too tired to even try to fight back.

Flame's fearful expression began to take on another look - that of determination. "Y-you're right! A-and if we don't win, at least we'll've died trying, r-right?"

That wasn't exactly what Julia had been going for, but she took it. "Right!" She offered Flame a grin that she hoped looked confident and turned back to face Groudon. "Let's kick some monster ass!"

Groudon had just finished turning around again when Julia shot off, making a wide arc around his body.

"STOP RUNNING. YOU CANNOT OUTRUN MY ATTACKS FOREVER." He launched more stones at Julia, who nimbly dodged them. Now behind Groudon, she took a running leap and raced up his plated back towards his head. If he was going to be vulnerable anywhere, it was bound to be his head, right?

Once she reached Groudon's head, she unloaded a blast of electricity at him. The resulting roar was deafening, and he roughly shook her off. Twisting to land on her paws by his massive feet, she struck him with electricity again, then felt a wave of heat directly above her. Groudon's underbelly was assaulted by glowing hot embers and he staggered back, still screeching. Julia took that opportunity to retreat back a safe distance and rejoin Flame.

"We're...actually doing it!" Flame exclaimed, looking excited. "If we keep hitting him with embers and electricity, maybe we can - whoa!"

The ground shook with another earthquake, this time unbalancing Julia. Groudon approached, looking livid.

"PUNY WEAKLINGS! YOU CANNOT BEAT ME!"

Feeling that her short rest had been enough to recharge some of her electricity, Julia charged Groudon again, striking him with an electrified tackle. On the rebound, however, a massive hand slammed against her and she was sent flying.

Her back collided with one of the stone walls and for a moment, she saw nothing. Her ears were ringing and she felt distant. Pain cascaded slowly through her body, too vicious for her to comprehend it. Faintly, she could hear a voice, but it was too far away, and she was slipping into the black…

Bright orange and yellow flashed across her vision, a soundless cacophony of muted heat and blurred lights. After a moment of vertigo, Julia could feel gravity below her again, and the rest of her senses gradually began to unfuck themselves. She heard vicious roaring, then felt a heavy thump against the ground, then sensed the burning air around her. With tremendous effort, she turned onto her front and put her paws beneath her, slowly pushing herself up off the ground. Another wave of pain crashed over her, and it was all she could do to not pass out. Then she heard that faint voice again.

"Julia! Julia, oh my gods, are you - are you - ?!"

Julia felt a pair of paws grab her under her arms and hoist her up. She staggered, leaning heavily against Flame, who was doing her best to hold her upright. Blinking slowly, Julia tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"What...just happened…?"

Flame looked panicked. "Y-y-you got hit by his paw and - and then you weren't m-moving and - and I just attacked him w-with everything I got and - "

Painfully, Julia turned her head to look past Flame. Groudon lay on the ground nearby, scorch marks all over his plating. He appeared to have been knocked out.

It hurt Julia to laugh, but she laughed anyways. "See, toldja you could do it."

"Are you okay?" Flame didn't look any less upset. "How bad did he - oh, wait, I think I still have - "

She let go of Julia to dig through her bag and Julia nearly lost her balance. Flame withdrew an oran berry and offered it to the pikachu. "Here, I think you need this…"

Julia gratefully bit into the berry, its sweet juices relieving her dry mouth. "Thanksh," she mumbled, then finished the rest of the berry off. Already, she could feel its healing properties ease her pain some. She suspected it would take longer for the rest of her to heal, but even the minor relief helped.

"Let's keep going before Groudon wakes up again," Julia suggested. "Wouldn't want all that effort to be for nothing, right?"

Flame nodded, finally smiling a bit. With Julia still leaning on her, they began to creep past Groudon, but before they made it far, the beast's body started glowing. The two stopped, transfixed, to watch as Groudon faded into light, leaving nothing behind. Julia stared in bewilderment at the space where he had just been.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

"You shall go no further." This was a new voice, much softer and more pleasant on the ears than Groudon's was. "I cannot allow either of you to reach Fogbound Lake."

"Wh-what just happened to Groudon?!" Flame asked, looking around nervously for whoever was talking now. "He was just there, and then he…!"

"That was merely an illusion I conjured up," the voice explained calmly. "As the guardian of the lake, I must defend it from intruders."

"Just an illusion?!" Flame exclaimed. She almost looked angry at this. "But - but all it did - "

Julia had had just about enough of this nonsense by now. They went through all the effort to clear the fog, scale this bizarre structure, and nearly get themselves destroyed by a fake - _fake_! - Groudon, just to be turned away? No way was Julia letting all they did go to waste.

"Hey, disembodied voice?" she called out. "We're not here to cause damage to the lake, or desecrate it or whatever you're so worried about." She glanced briefly at Flame and sighed. "We won't even take anything from this place, if you don't want us to."

Flame didn't hesitate to nod her agreement. "I was hoping for treasure, but...if you take issue with that, we can just leave right now."

"Well, actually…" Julia took a step forward, wincing at the pain. "I came up here for another reason, as well. I was hoping for some information."

The voice was silent a moment. "...Information?"

"I have an...issue, regarding memory loss," Julia clarified, "and I heard someone around here might know something about that. That'd be you, right?"

There was another pause. Julia and Flame exchanged an apprehensive glance. Had Julia said something wrong? Maybe that had come across as a little _too_ informal.

However, the voice eventually gave a response. "Very well. I will choose to believe you. I pray to the gods you do not make me regret my choice."

Before Flame and Julia, seemingly out of thin air, appeared a strange-looking, floating blue pokémon. In the dim light, Julia could perceive that they had a yellow face and hair-like structure around their head, as well as two long tails hanging beneath their body. Though the pokémon's eyes were closed, their face was turned directly towards Flame and Julia.

"Allow me to introduce myself," they said. "My name is Uxie. As I have said, I am guardian of Fogbound Lake. I suppose I have put you through enough this evening to justify showing the lake to you." They sounded almost melancholy as they spoke, and when they turned around and began floating down the pathway, their movements seemed reluctant. "Come along. I will lead you there."

Julia followed, displeased to find that she was walking with a bit of a limp. Flame came up to her side quickly and offered Julia an arm to lean on, but Julia waved it away. She could handle herself for a little walk.

The rock walls gradually fell away and the pathway opened up to reveal a vast, impossibly blue lake spanning nearly the entire surface of the plateau. It was bordered by patches of shrubs and small trees, but there were gaps where the water could flow freely past. Julia guessed this explained the waterfalls they had seen from below. It was a lot to take in, though the dark of early evening made it hard to make out all the details.

What was clear, however, was that there was a brightly shining green light emanating from the centre of the lake. Julia squinted out over the surface of the water, trying to make out what it was. Something about it seemed to draw her to it, and she found herself standing at the very edge of the bank, the gentle waves of the lake lapping at her toes.

"This is Fogbound Lake," Uxie said, floating over next to Julia. "Water is constantly drawn up here through Steam Cave. From here, it pours out the sides, where it eventually finds its way underground. Then it is once again brought up back into the lake. So the cycle repeats."

"Uxie, this is beautiful!" Flame also ran up to the shore, gazing out over the lake. "Are we the first explorers to see it?"

Uxie shook their head. "Unfortunately, no. Many have come before you. Most were stopped by the Groudon illusion I conjured up with my psychic abilities. Those few who had defeated it all had malicious intent. They sought to use the lake for whatever selfish goals they had. For them, I had no choice but to erase their memories of this place."

Julia's heart hammered in her throat. There were those magic words. "You can erase memories?"

"Yes." Uxie regarded Julia curiously. "It was you who was asking about that, correct?"

"Yeah, I lost all of my memories a while ago. I was wondering if you had anything to do with that."

Before Uxie could answer, Flame piped up, "Oh, but Julia wasn't a pikachu when she got amnesia, right? You would have been a human at that time."

Cringing slightly, Julia nodded. "I mean, the two things _might_ not've happened at the same time, but…"

Uxie waited patiently to make sure they were both done talking this time before answering. "I am sorry, but I'm afraid I am uninvolved with this occurrence. For one thing, I have never seen a human come here before, let alone recently; and for another, I do not remove _all_ of one's memories, only those few connected to Fogbound Lake."

Julia's ears drooped. "Oh. Well. I guess it _was_ a bit of a long shot."

"That's too bad," Flame said, looking disappointed as well. "But at least that means you didn't lose your memory because you were trying to do something bad here."

Giving a curt nod, Julia looked back over the surface of the water. A swarm of volbeats and illumises had gathered around the green light, each flickering their own tail-lights as they danced around. Were they, too, drawn to that light?

"You are looking at a Time Gear."

Flame gasped, apparently shocked by this revelation. Julia just gave Uxie a questioning look. "A Time Gear?"

"Yes." Uxie bobbed a short ways over the water, gazing out blindly at the green light. "Are you unfamiliar with the concept of Time Gears?"

It wasn't like Julia had never heard of them. There was enough gossip among townspeople and exploration teams about the recent theft of one of these gears that she had picked up some information on them. However, when she tried to ask Zubat and Koffing about it, they hadn't known enough about them to properly explain. "All I know is that they're really important for keeping time working properly."

"It's more than that!" Flame said. "They keep time flowing, period! They're the most vital objects ever!"

Uxie nodded sagely. "You are quite correct. This is the reason I must guard this lake as I do. Nothing may be allowed to happen to it."

"You're right! We can't just take a Time Gear, can we!"

All three turned in surprise to look at the owner of the new voice, who was brightly skipping down the path towards the lake.

"G-Guildmaster?!" Flame squeaked, eyes going wide. Uxie frowned, folding their arms behind their back.

"And who is this?"

"Oh, uh…" Julia waved a paw. "This is Guildmaster Wigglytuff. He's - he's alright."

Flame added, "He's with us! He's a really nice guy!"

As if to prove Flame's point, Wigglytuff immediately came right up to Uxie and stuck out a paw to shake. "Hiya, new friend! Sorry for interrupting your discussion!"

Hesitantly, Uxie took Wigglytuff's paw and shook. They seemed confused by Wigglytuff's appearance, but not afraid. "A pleasure."

Wigglytuff shook their paw enthusiastically, then went to the edge of the water, gazing out adoringly. "Wow, what a view! I like your lake, friend!"

"It's Uxie," Uxie corrected. "And I must say I like it, too."

The sound of numerous footsteps coming up the path made everyone turn again, and to Julia's surprise the entirety of the guild appeared, all out of breath.

"We - we finally made it…" Chatot panted, looking about ready to collapse. Uxie raised an eyebrow at the entourage.

"They're with you, I presume?"

Wigglytuff nodded vigorously. "They're my guild! And they're all lovely friends!"

"HEY, where's the BATTLE?" Loudred demanded, looking around. "I THOUGHT you guys were in TROUBLE or something!"

"Flame!" Bidoof ran past the rest of the group and stopped before Flame. Relief was written all over his face. "By golly, I'm glad you're okay! You up and vanished from the rest of the group, and I was so worried you got lost in the woods all alone!"

Flame began to reply, but the sound of gushing water from the centre of the lake interrupted her.

"Oh, it's erupting!" Wigglytuff said. "It's so pretty, pretty!"

Everyone turned their attention to the lake. From the centre, where the Time Gear lay beneath the surface of the lake, erupted a fountain of water. The light from the Time Gear and the bug pokémon flying around illuminated the geyser, turning it into a dazzling light show. Julia was transfixed by the display. She was certain that she'd never seen anything this beautiful in her life.

"Hey hey hey, is that a Time Gear in there?!" Corphish exclaimed, scuttling right up to the water's edge. "I don't believe it! All this time, one of the most important objects in all of existence was right out here, exposed to the whole world!"

"You DUMMY," Loudred said, "it was all hidden by the FOG! How d'you expect ANYONE would be able to find it?"

"That's not - you know what I meant, hey hey!" Corphish turned to Uxie with a determined expression on his face. "You know everything there is to know about this Time Gear, right? Please, tell me more about it! I beg of you, hey hey hey!"

Uxie turned to face him, their expression placid. "I could tell you, but then I would have to wipe your memories clean."

Corphish let out a distressed "Eep!" and Loudred came up to him to lean against his head, grinning.

"Tough break, buddy! Guess you'll never know how Time Gears work, eh?"

Shaking their head, Uxie turned to face the water, a faint smile upon their face. "Every now and again, the geyser will erupt from below. This sight makes the endless guard duty well worth it."

Julia was too absorbed by the fountain to ponder how Uxie could see with their eyes closed. She felt the near-overwhelming urge to somehow reach out and touch the Time Gear, to see it up close with her own eyes. She couldn't imagine why she felt this way - she'd only _just _learned about them properly, but somehow she felt a strong, aching connection to it.

"Look at it, everyone!" Wigglytuff spread his paws wide, inviting everyone to come in closer. "This is the _real_ treasure of Fogbound Lake! This pretty, pretty view!"

Not a soul complained about this being the treasure. They all just moved in to better see it, spellbound. Julia barely noticed when Flame came up next to her, only looking over when she began to speak.

"Hey, I'm sorry you didn't learn why you lost your memory." Her voice was quiet, likely to avoid being heard by the others. Julia shrugged at her nonchalantly.

"Sorry you didn't get your treasure. There's always next time, right?"

"About that…" Flame sounded a little hesitant. "After this, are you going back to Team Skull?"

Damn, she'd forgotten about that. Julia looked back, scanning the faces of the guild for her teammates, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Give me a moment." Julia crept over to where Wigglytuff was dancing gleefully on the spot, holding Chatot by the wings and spinning him around with him. The bird looked less than thrilled about this.

"Guildmaster Wigglytuff?" Julia asked. Wigglytuff paused in his spinning, giving Chatot a window of opportunity to free himself and hop a few feet away to stand at a safe distance.

"Yes, Pikachu?" Wigglytuff responded in his sing-song voice.

"After I left with Flame, what happened to - I mean, where did my team get off to?"

Wigglytuff's expression was unreadable. Those bright green eyes could have witnessed all the secrets of the universe and Julia would never know. It made Julia feel incredibly uncomfortable.

After a moment of treating Julia to his thousand-year stare, Wigglytuff plopped a paw on Julia's head and patted her comfortingly. "They decided to go home all on their own!" he told her, smiling. "You can travel back with us, though! No worries, no worries!"

Julia wasn't comforted. "...Are they okay?"

Wigglytuff's expression didn't change. "They will be."

Julia returned to Flame, face white. "...So, I'll be heading back with you guys."

"They left without you?" Flame frowned, crossing her paws. "Some teammates _they_ are."

"I...don't know if it was like _that_, exactly."

Still, even after Julia returned back to Treasure Town, what would she do? Now that Skuntank had showed her true colours, Julia didn't know if she wanted to remain allied with her. But Zubat and Koffing…

Julia rubbed a paw against her bandana, biting her lip. For as much wrong as they had done - and would likely keep doing, particularly under Skuntank's leadership - Julia still considered them her friends. And it was clear they had some kind of unhealthy dynamic going on with their leader. How could Julia possibly hope to help them, though?

"So…?" Flame prompted, giving Julia an expectant look.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," Julia admitted. "I want to make sure they're okay, at least, but I don't know if I can go back to doing what I was doing with them. And as long as I'm with Team Skull, it'll be hard to look into my memory loss problem." She sighed. "But without them...I don't know what I'd do. I don't have any other place to go."

Flame scuffed a foot on the ground. "...Y'know, you could always join the guild…"

"Join the guild?" Julia made a disgusted face. "No thanks. I don't really subscribe to that whole system."

"But there's nothing bad about it!" Flame protested. "I think those guys took advantage of you losing your memory to tell you a bunch of lies just so you'd join their side!"

Julia opened her mouth to protest, then closed it. Yeah, there's no way it wasn't incredibly obvious that's what they were doing. But what they had said made sense to her. She couldn't imagine how the guild could really be innocent.

While Julia remained silent, Flame took the opportunity to keep going. "If you join the guild, I can work with you. Maybe we can learn the truth about what turned you into a pokémon together!"

Julia shushed her quickly. "Keep your voice down! I don't need everyone knowing and thinking I'm crazy!"

Realizing what she meant, Flame put a paw over her mouth and nodded. Quieter, she went on, "When you work at the guild, you get a lot of opportunities to learn new things and talk to new people. Joining could be your best shot at getting information about your past!"

It sounded so tempting that Julia almost agreed outright. Instead, she took a moment to look back out over the water. The geyser was still going, and the light of the Time Gear still called out to Julia, but now she was thinking about other things. If she hadn't been here before, why did she feel a sense of familiarity? Why had she heard that voice? And what was this vague feeling that everything around her was just slightly...off?

If she went back to Team Skull, she'd likely get a beating from Skuntank before just going back to the same old routine of 'pick target, steal item'. If she joined the guild, even if it gave her the opportunity to learn more about herself, she'd have to participate in the nasty work of scamming pokémon who needed help. And if she went on her own...who knew. Maybe she'd join a team and go off on adventures, or maybe she'd end up on the other end of a job request, trapped in a dungeon after being ganged-up on by thugs. There was no easy answer.

But one of the options had Flame. Julia still needed to make up for what she had done to her, and what Flame clearly wanted her to do was join the guild. She couldn't imagine why, especially after how nasty she had been, but she _did_ feel the makings of a strange sort of friendship between them. At the very least, if she went with Flame, she'd have a place to stay, with someone who didn't want her dead.

Julia closed her eyes. That settled it. She'd just have to pick the lesser of the evils and do her best to endure the wrongs. Hopefully, the fact that Wigglytuff sent her off up here with Flame meant that he wouldn't immediately kick Julia out the second she told him she wanted to join, and Chatot seemed dense enough to have not noticed that anything was wrong in the first place.

This was going to be weird. Fortunately, by now, Julia was used to weird.

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**I've edited this chapter quite thoroughly so I'm pretty sure it should be relatively error-free, but please let me know in the comments if you happen to catch anything! I read and appreciate all reviews, and even those good ol' flame reviews provide me with the gratification I crave. See you all again next week, this time for real!**


	13. Chapter 13: Ponyta

**I find it interesting how some characters will stubbornly write themselves and go against everything I want them to do, while others will simply allow themselves to be haplessly strung along. Is it better for any given character to be real or to be obedient? Of course, no character holds power over their writer. At the end of the day, it's you who has the final say, and the only difference is whether or not you'll be forced to impose consequences.**

**Sorry. I'm just frustrated. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

"See you never, loser."

Fluffy turned and ran away from Sir Majestic Tail as the monochrome Treeshroud Forest swallowed her up. Sir Majestic Tail tried to run after her, to apologize, to say anything to stop her from going, but the ground was opening beneath him, and his legs just wouldn't move fast enough for him to escape in time. In fact, he was frozen, just as immobile as the pokémon in the woods. He couldn't even cry out as he fell deeper and deeper into the pit, and the grey above slowly faded into black, then blacker-than-black…

A few seconds before Sir Majestic Tail woke up, Green and Purple showed up with their distant cousin, Red, and attempted to sell him orbs. He kept trying to tell them which one he wanted, but due to being both completely frozen _and_ in the process of falling down a dark pit, he couldn't quite order it. Then there was the embarrassing matter of not having brought his saddlebags, so he couldn't actually pay for it, either.

Sir Majestic Tail awoke in a cold sweat and struggled to stand like a foal struggles to take its first steps. He couldn't remember what he'd dreamt about, but all he knew was that it had gone from bad to worse in quick succession.

"Sleep well, Ponyta?" Camerupt asked from the other side of the room. He was already up and was looking through their stores of food.

"I slept horribly, thanks for asking." Sir Majestic Tail staggered over to him, nearly tripping on the still-asleep Bellsprout. "How is our supply of food looking?"

Camerupt shrugged, gesturing towards the compartment. "I took the liberty of going through it this morning. Some of the berries went bad and I had to toss 'em. All that's left is enough for breakfast for the three of us and maybe enough for two for dinner. Looks like it'll need some serious restocking."

Sir Majestic Tail poked his head in and made a face. Camerupt was being very optimistic with his estimate.

"I'll say! There's hardly enough in here to last us until noon!" He took an apple from

Sir Majestic Tail awoke in a cold sweat and struggled to stand like a foal struggles to take its first steps. He couldn't remember what he'd dreamt about, but all he knew was that it had gone from bad to worse in quick succession.

The first thing he was aware of was how quiet the base was. It was still early in the morning - pale light streamed down through the single window, indicating the sun had only just risen - but usually at this time, Camerupt would already be up and about, perhaps talking with Bellsprout about the plans for the day. Failing that, the former's loud snores would be plainly audible - and annoying as heck.

But Camerupt wasn't even in the base. Bellsprout, too, appeared to be absent. Sir Majestic Tail looked around in confusion, squinting in the dim light, until his gaze fell upon a piece of paper lying on the ground just next to Bellsprout's bed. Curious, he went over to inspect it.

There was messy handwriting that Sir Majestic Tail recognized as Bellsprout's scrawled on the paper, and he lowered his head to read. As he went through the note, horror slowly began to set in. He looked up abruptly, looking around as though Bellsprout might suddenly appear in one of the corners of the room, then ran out of the base in a panic.

"'Morning, Ponyta."

Sir Majestic Tail nearly leapt out of his skin when Camerupt spoke. The stocky pokémon was leaning against the outer wall of the base, staring out into the distance. He wore a tired expression as though he hadn't slept at all that night.

"Camerupt!" Sir Majestic Tail exclaimed, glaring at him crossly. "You shouldn't startle me like that, not this early in the morning!" He shook his head and composed himself. "Now, where, might I ask, did Bellsprout go?"

Camerupt turned his head to look at Sir Majestic Tail, and he had a strange look of resignment. "You read the note, didn't you?"

Sir Majestic Tail stamped a hoof impatiently. "Yes, of course I read the darn note, that's not what I'm asking about! I'm asking you if you've seen where our leader's gone!"

"Who knows?" Camerupt blew out a low sigh. "He was already gone when I woke up."

"W-well!" The ponyta began pacing back and forth anxiously. "That settles it! We need to find him immediately! How irresponsible of our leader to just up and run off on us! I ought to give him a piece of my mind when we locate him!"

"Ponyta."

Sir Majestic Tail snapped his head up. "What?!"

"We're not going after him."

"Why not?!" Sir Majestic Tail demanded.

Giving another sigh, Camerupt walked over to Sir Majestic Tail and put a hoof on the ponyta's shoulder. Sir Majestic Tail would have protested angrily against this - he could smell the dirt and filth caked in a thin layer on the underside of that hoof - but Camerupt's expression somehow shut him up.

"You read his note. He said being on Team Flame was stressing him out too much. We have to respect his decision to leave."

Sir Majestic Tail finally shook Camerupt's hoof off. "No, we do _not_! It's irresponsible! And - and it's unfair to us! What are we supposed to do if our leader's run off?" As soon as he said that, an aching, familiar feeling settled in the pit of his stomach and his throat knotted up. This was the kind of déjà vu he'd never wanted to have to feel.

"What _can_ we do?" Camerupt asked, shrugging. "If the pressure was too much for him, we can't exactly force him to come back and be our leader again. Bellsprout's smart, a real great kid, but if he says he's done, he's done."

"I mean, what about our team?" Sir Majestic Tail insisted. "Arceus, we'll have to restructure everything! And there's so much we'll need to do: split up finances, track Bellsprout down and give him his share of Team Flame's treasures, oh and we'll need to go through the trouble of finding a new leader while we're at it - " He began pacing again, his brow furrowing. "No no no, this simply won't do! We _need_ him! The two of us cannot just hope to do this alone, not without him!"

Camerupt looked away uncomfortably. "Hey, Ponyta, I know you're not in a great state right now, but I really shouldn't hold off saying this."

Sir Majestic Tail was now about agitated enough to senselessly buck one of the nearby trees, but he held firm. No, he couldn't just fly into hysterics over all this. He had to keep his calm and dignity.

"_What_ exactly," he said, "is it that you can't hold off saying?"

"I'm leaving, too."

"...Sorry?"

Lowering his head apologetically, Camerupt said, "Listen, Ponyta, it's been great working with you and all - with both of you - but I'm just not as enthusiastic about all this adventuring as you are. Not anymore." He turned and walked in a slow circle as he continued speaking. "I've spent just about my whole life working towards being a great explorer. I've given up all prospects of romance, and settling down properly in a community and all that. But I'm getting older now, and I just can't keep up with all your spunk and enthusiasm. It'd be a disservice to you if I stayed."

Sir Majestic Tail stared silently at him for a moment. Then he bucked the tree.

"Really! You've really had all these pent-up feelings for who-knows-how-long, and only _now_ you decide to bring them up?!" He marched right up to Camerupt and faced him head-on, glaring. "This is beyond unacceptable, not just as my team member but as my friend! Don't you think someone who truly cared would perhaps think to _warn_ me of this well in advance before running off the same day as our leader?!"

He had been hoping to get a rise out of Camerupt, get him to fight back, but Camerupt didn't even look angry. He just looked...sad. And tired.

"I'd say keeping this to myself for over a year so I wouldn't make you upset and break up your second team is something a friend would do, wouldn't you?"

Sir Majestic Tail's throat tightened again and he had to break eye contact. He was practically vibrating in rage, but he couldn't argue against that. Camerupt had him beat.

The two stood in silence for a while as the tension between them slowly melted. The sun was now almost up and the cloud-studded sky had turned a soft shade of red, giving the trees around them a warm tone. It felt wrong for a morning this nice to be the backdrop for such an unpleasant situation.

Camerupt was the first to start speaking again. "I'm going to take a few treasures and half the food. You can keep the base and divide the rest of our funds and items as you see fit."

Ears drooping, Sir Majestic Tail quietly asked, "...Must you really leave me?" He flinched when he felt Camerupt drop his muzzle atop his head in what was probably supposed to be a comforting manner.

"You'll do fine, Ponyta." He paused. "Sir Majestic Tail. There's gonna be young, driven explorers out there who are just as enthusiastic about all this as you are. You'll find them." He pulled his head back and offered Sir Majestic Tail a gentle, genuine smile. "Keep your chin up, buddy. You've got the makings of a legend in you. Take it from me."

Sir Majestic Tail could only stare blankly as Camerupt shuffled into the base, shrugged on a spare bag, dropped some food and relics into it, and walked back out.

"Good luck out there, friend," he said, nodding to Sir Majestic Tail.

Sir Majestic Tail swallowed and forced a tight-lipped smile. "...You, too. I wish you only the best."

Camerupt patted him again with a hoof, then turned and walked out into the wilds. It wasn't worth it to watch him leave, so Sir Majestic Tail ducked into the base to avoid looking at his former teammate anymore. However, the base looked too empty and uninviting. After a moment of standing around inside, looking at nothing, he stomped back outside. Fortunately, Camerupt was out of sight by this point.

So. Team Flame was no more. It was official. Sir Majestic Tail was on his own again.

Again.

Suddenly enraged, he stormed around the clearing in circles, starting up sparks of flame at his hooves. So this was the thanks he got! After two years of being nothing but exemplary as a teammate, his reward was for both members of his team to abandon him at once! Was this supposed to be punishment for his arrogance? For his past misdeeds? For blowing up at Fluffy? And really, none of those things had even been _that_ bad! How was this supposed to be justified in the slightest?

The flames began to rise higher beneath his hooves and he quickly stamped them out. No matter how mad he was, he couldn't risk starting another wildfire. In search of something to burn, he re-entered the base and set his sights on Bellsprout's note. Well, forget him! If he was too cowardly to leave without warning or leaving anything more than a silly note, his property wasn't worth respecting! Sir Majestic Tail blasted the note with a volley of embers, then set the bed on fire, too, for good measure. When that wasn't enough, he turned to Camerupt's bed and also set it ablaze. He even burned his own bed. That was just how mad he was.

The scent of burning grass filled the air and smoke obscured everything in the room. It was so thick it was starting to pour out the window and doorway and he took a moment to wonder if it would be visible from Treasure Town. His fury now drained, he walked through the flames and curled up on his blazing bed. The heat of the fire was comforting and if not for the team of pelippers that showed up only a few minutes later to douse the flames, he would have fallen asleep right then and there.

But trying to sleep while being drenched in water is slightly tricky, so that didn't exactly work out for him.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he sputtered, scrambling out of the way of the jets of water that were now blasting every corner of the room. The intensity of the blasts diminished and he was able to stand up and angrily shake himself off.

"Sorry 'bout that, sir!" said one of the pelippers who was stationed right by the door. "Just doing our job!"

Sir Majestic Tail looked around wildly and spotted two more pelippers inside the room and one flapping just outside the window. The smoke had cleared substantially and the fires were out, leaving behind nothing but blackened bits of the beds. And a sopping-wet ponyta.

"Can't you just leave a burning home be?!" he snapped at the four, his flames sputtering in a waterlogged manner. "It really was a lovely blaze I'd had burning in here!"

"It's our duty to put out fires," another pelipper said. "This base is in a volatile location, and if any of the trees around here caught fire, there would be a risk of it spreading to Treasure Town! You understand, don't you?"

Sir Majestic Tail didn't respond, instead opting to turn his nose up and march past them out the door. He heard one calling after him to apologize for soaking him, but he wasn't about to quit acting petty now.

He had gotten a good ways away from the base when he remembered he'd left his bags behind. He quickly cantered back, shoving past the pelippers to get to the hidden treasure compartment, which had been safe from the fires, then slung the saddlebags over his back in a single, expert motion. Noticing the pelippers were staring at him, he shot glares at all of them.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" he said. "The fire's out, no thanks to you. Get out of here and be on your way!"

The pelippers scattered and flew off, apparently not wanting to face any more of the crazy ponyta's wrath. Finally at a perfect balance of annoyance, residual anger, and resignedness, Sir Majestic Tail slammed the base's door and walked down the path towards Treasure Town. He had a lot to do.

The morning sun, in combination with his flaming mane and tail, dried him off quickly enough, and though the unwanted shower had been highly unpleasant, he felt clean and refreshed now. So what if his team had left him? He knew how to start over. There were sure to be a plethora of new, younger explorers who would feel honoured to join him. Sure, he'd miss Bellsprout and Camerupt, but he missed Maractus and Lanturn, too, and he had been able to move on from them.

"Good morning, Ponyta!"

The voice startled Sir Majestic Tail from his thoughts and he looked up to realize he had already reached the crossroads. Floating just a few yards ahead of him was Dusknoir, looking amicable.

"Oh, good morning, Dusknoir, sir!" Sir Majestic Tail replied, straightening up. "What a pleasant surprise it is to see you again! Have you been well?"

"Quite! I've decided to meet the locals around here, and I must say, it's been a surprise to me how accommodating everyone is!"

Sir Majestic Tail beamed. "Yes, you'll find Treasure Town certainly comment stung Julia a little. "Whatever. We won't be taking the rewards, by the way."

Flame looked shocked. "Wh - but - "

"I said I'd join the guild, not that I'd play by its rules," Julia said firmly, readjusting her scarf. "You got a problem with that?"

"Heh, you still sound like a 'tough guy'." Shaking her head, Flame see that it is," the ghostly pokémon replied, nodding. "And tell me, how is Fluffy doing?"

Sir Majestic Tail chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, her? She was merely a client I was escorting!" he lied. "I doubt I'll be seeing her again any time soon!"

Even without a mouth and only one eye, Dusknoir's doubt was expressed clearly on his face. "Hmm, that's a pity. I found her boldness refreshing. Well, no matter. I'm just on my way to visit the Wigglytuff Guild here. Have you met its Guildmaster?"

"Ah, yes, as a matter of fact I used to train under him!" Sir Majestic Tail said proudly. "He's very much the character. I have no doubt you will appreciate his...mannerisms, let's say. But don't be deceived, he may well be the most powerful pokémon I've ever met!"

Dusknoir appeared to look curious. "I've heard about the same description from everyone I've asked. I can't wait to meet him." He dipped his head to Sir Majestic Tail. "I'd best be off, now. I'll be staying in Treasure Town for the next while, however, so I may still see you around."

"Until next time, then!"

Dusknoir passed Sir Majestic Tail, who only watched him go for a moment before continuing towards Treasure Town. What a pleasant encounter that had been! Now, despite the events of earlier that morning, Sir Majestic Tail was certain he would be able to turn the day around.

First, however, he'd need to separate the shared Team Flame accounts at Duskull Bank, then have Kangaskhan Storage separate their stored items, then purchase a few more items at the Kecleon Market to make up for the supply he would no longer have access to. It would be a drag, but if he did it all now he wouldn't have to worry about it later.

It was early afternoon by the time the hassle of separating accounts had been dealt with. Splitting up the pool of money three ways was easy enough, but figuring out which items should go to which pokémon was a great deal more difficult. There were some that Sir Majestic Tail knew for certain were his, but many were a grey area. In the end, he left the joint storage open and just had a few items moved into a separate account for himself. If Camerupt or Bellsprout wanted items from the group storage, they could take them, but if they left anything behind, Sir Majestic Tail could claim them later.

Now he stood in front of Kecleon Market, gazing at their displayed stock of items. He didn't need any of the berries they were offering, but they _did_ have some nice scarves for sale, and their selection of orbs was tempting.

"Hmm, while that trap scarf is rather appealing, the patsy band would much better match my fur. Such a lovely shade of orange! You _did_ say these were fire-resistant, yes?"

Purple chuckled, resting his folded arms atop the counter. "Sure are, but long enough exposure'll make them lose their colour."

Sir Majestic Tail frowned. That was a serious consideration to make. "I may need a little more time to deliberate, in that case," he said.

"You take your time," Green said. He glanced at his brother, then leaned in towards Sir Majestic Tail slightly. "Hey, did you hear the Great Dusknoir was in town?"

Sir Majestic Tail's ears perked up at the mention of Dusknoir. "Oh, yes! I just met him on my way over! I didn't know he was going by 'the Great' now, though."

"Isn't he marvellous?" Green swooned. "He actually talked to us to buy some items!"

"We wanted to lower the price, but he refused and paid us more instead!" Purple added. "Truly, he's just as great as people say he is!"

That other pokémon knew of Dusknoir was news to Sir Majestic Tail. "Is he well-known around town?"

"More than just in town! Everyone coming in and out can't stop talking about him!"

"The mysterious solo explorer who showed up out of nowhere and began spreading his infinite knowledge! In all my career, I've never seen someone gain popularity and fame so quickly! Goodness, I hope he decides to stop by again sometime today!"

So Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy must have met him before he became famous. That was definitely something to brag about, and just as he was about to proudly do so, Purple looked past him and called out, "Good afternoon, boys!"

Sir Majestic Tail turned to see the marill brothers passing by, heading in the direction of the crossroads. They stopped to wave at him and the shopkeeps.

"Hiya, misters!" Marill said brightly. "How ya doing?"

"We're doing just fine," Green said, smiling down at them. "And how are you two?"

"We're great!" Azurill replied. Both he and Marill looked more cheerful than usual today. "We heard someone found our Water Float!"

"At last!" Sir Majestic Tail said. "You've been searching for that silly thing for much too long!" At least _someone's_ day was going right when Julia spotted a marill and an azurill slowly walking together up from the beach path. Both looked absolutely dejected, and the marill clutched a crumpled piece of paper in his paw.

"Hey, Marill, Azurill," Flame said, a slight frown on her face. "Are you kids okay?"

"Someone told us they saw our Water Float on the beach," Marill said, sniffling, "but when we got there, there was just feel happy for them. "Where did they find it?"

Marill pointed down the path. "They said it's on the beach!"

Green leaned over the counter again to say, "The beach is a pretty public place. How long ago did they see it?"

"Ummmm…" Marill thought about it. "They didn't say…"

Purple raised an eyebrow. "If you don't hurry, someone else might pick it up before you."

Marill and Azurill looked at each other, suddenly panicked, when Sir Majestic Tail stepped in. "What do you say I run down to the beach and retrieve it for you?" He tossed his mane. "Not to be a braggart, but I am without a doubt the fastest runner in this entire town."

"Thanks, mister!" Marill said, smiling again.

"Don't you worry your little heads about it! I shall be back before you can say my name!" With that, Sir Majestic Tail took off at a gallop, weaving expertly between the other pokémon in town. He didn't mind the opportunity to show off a little to the brothers - it was definitely a little confidence-booster. For as tough as Camerupt was and as...well, leaderly as Bellsprout was, neither of them could run like this.

As he approached the crossroads, he noticed a quartet of pokémon were standing right in the middle of it, gathered around what appeared to be a piece of paper on the ground. Two he recognized as Marill and Azurill from town, but the other two, a cyndaquil and a pikachu, were unfamiliar to him. He skidded to a stop suddenly as he drew near, sending up a cloud of dust and drawing their attention.

"Hey, watch where you're going," the pikachu snapped, narrowing her eyes. "Any faster and you'd've run us over."

"I most certainly would _not_ have!" Sir Majestic Tail insisted, looking miffed. "I have full control over my speed!"

The pikachu frowned. "You were running right at us like your life depended on it."

Opting to ignore her, Sir Majestic Tail turned to the marill brothers. "Good morning, you two! How are you - " It was then that he noticed they both looked almost on the verge of tears. "Goodness, are you boys alright?"

"Not really," Marill said miserably. "We found a really mean note for us…"

Sir Majestic Tail's nostrils flared. "What?! Is someone bullying you? Why, I'll burn them to a crisp! Who wrote that note?"

"We don't know," Marill replied. He gestured to the paper on the ground. "We heard our Water Float was on the beach, but when we got there, all we saw was this paper."

"We think it's a ransom note," the cyndaquil spoke up, picking up the note to read it aloud. "'If you want your Water Float back, you'll have to go through me. Come to the deepest part of Amp Plains if you're not cowards. Don't expect to ever see it again otherwise.'" She held it up for Sir Majestic Tail so he could read it himself. "Honestly, I can't believe someone would be this nasty!"

After quickly reading the message the message over to confirm what it said, Sir Majestic Tail raised his head and pinned his ears back, appalled. "What dastardly being would write such a thing? And to steal from children! This is beyond simply bullying, this is absolutely pathetic of them!"

Both the cyndaquil and the pikachu flinched at his outburst and the latter gave him a half-lidded-eye look that he didn't appreciate.

"We have to get it back!" Marill said. "That Water Float is really important to us! But after what happened with Drowzee…" He put a protective paw on Azurill's head. "...I don't want my brother to get messed up with any more bad guys."

Without hesitation, Sir Majestic Tail puffed out his chest and began, "Not to worry, boys, I would be more than happy to - "

"We'll get your item back."

Bristling at the interruption, Sir Majestic Tail glared down at the offending pikachu who had cut him off. She had at some point taken the note from the cyndaquil and was now staring at it, eyes narrowed.

"Wait, really?" the cyndaquil asked in surprise. "I thought you wanted to do those missions."

Sir Majestic Tail stepped in before the pikachu could respond. "Please, allow _me_ to take this assignment on myself. It will doubtlessly be much quicker if I simply go alone."

The pikachu looked up at him, her voice cool. "What are you, some kinda show-off? Let Flame and I handle this, and you can go back to racing your shadow, how's that sound?"

The nerve of this girl! Sir Majestic Tail gritted his teeth, trying to restrain his anger. He couldn't blow up at her in front of the marill brothers. "Oh? So you dare call _me_ the show-off when your partner's name is _Flame_?"

The cyndaquil flinched and mumbled, "Hey, let's not fight over this…"

"Piss off," the pikachu told Sir Majestic Tail. "We're taking this mission."

"Are you aware of whom you are presently speaking to?!" Sir Majestic Tail took a stride towards her and lifted his head higher so he could look down on her. "I am a graduate of the Wigglytuff Guild and a top-ranked explorer from not _one_ but _two_ highly-esteemed teams! And you, some foul-mouthed, unclean, un_couth_ _nobody_, dares to tell me to 'piss off'?! I would strongly suggest you choose a new phrase to use on me, and it had better include an apology!"

Marill looked uncomfortably from Sir Majestic Tail to Julia. "U-um, if it's too much trouble, y-you don't have to do it. I don't want you to get in a fight because of us…"

The young boy's quavering voice snapped Sir Majestic Tail out of his rage. He looked like he was on the verge of tears just from this silly argument. Even the pikachu's fur settled, though her fierce glare didn't soften.

"We're not starting a battle," Julia replied. "This ponyta here was just leaving."

Stamping a hoof, Sir Majestic Tail snapped, "No, I most certainly am _not_! I am not going anywhere!" He paused. "Except Amp Plains. I am going to Amp Plains to retrieve the marill brothers' Water Float."

Sir Majestic Tail, by this point, had had quite enough of this nonsense. He turned to the marill brothers, who looked extremely uncertain about the whole situation, and proclaimed, "It's settled! I shall take on the duty of bringing back your Water Float! Rest assured, without being held back any _clearly _new guild trainees!"

He began to march off determinedly when Flame timidly piped up, "What if the three of us go together?"

Sir Majestic Tail turned his head back to shoot him a glare. "Did you not just hear what I - "

"Sounds like a plan."

His gaze snapped to the pikachu, who now looked resigned. Flame frowned at her.

"Are you sure, Julia? That's a lot of pokémon going at the same time. That, and…"

This was an atrocious idea. Three pokémon without any sort of chemistry to speak of - sounded like a disaster in the making. And yet Sir Majestic Tail's ego wouldn't let him dismiss it entirely. These were all clearly new members of the guild without a good role model. And though it would certainly be much faster to go to Amp Plains alone, it may be more difficult to fend off feral pokémon. Not only that, but without his prior teammates, who else would he brag about himself to?

"You kids are lucky it was me you ran into," Sir Majestic Tail began, ignoring Julia's muttered, "_You_ ran into _us_."

He continued, "If I were a lesser explorer, you surely would have been scoffed at and swiftly turned down, but you will get no such refusals from Sir Majestic Tail! No, I shall be pleased to honour you four with a demonstration of what it means to be a _true_ explorer!"

"All of you are going out?" Azurill asked, sounding surprised. "Just to get our Water Float back? Th-thank you so much!"

His eyes filled with tears. "You don't even know us, and you're being so nice to us… How can we ever repay you?"

"Your happiness is the only payment we need!" Sir Majestic Tail assured him. He smiled down at the brothers. "We'll have your treasure returned to you in no time!"

"Thanks so much!" Marill squeaked, eyes shining. "Come on, Azurill, let's go home for now!"

After thanking the group a few more times, the marill brothers dashed off in high spirits. Sir Majestic Tail watched them go, then turned to the two pokémon he was now expected to lead. With the argument settled and tensions resolved - for the most part - he was finally able to place the cyndaquil. He'd spotted her once or twice when taking job requests from the guild, though he'd never bothered to take the time to converse with her. The pikachu who called herself 'Julia', however, he didn't recognize. She had such a sour look to her that he was sure he wouldn't be able to forget seeing her. And even if he _had_ forgotten her appearance, he certainly wouldn't have forgotten her scent. For an electric type, she sure smelled an awful lot like _poison_.

"Now, then, we shall be off!" Sir Majestic Tail told them. "The two of you are to follow my every instruction and pay close attention to my actions! I presume you're all quite new to exploring, so this will be an excellent learning opportunity for you!"

"You sound like Chatot," Julia said flatly, much to Sir Majestic Tail's alarm.

"Oh, dear, you flatter me," Sir Majestic Tail lied, his cheeks burning red. "Anyhow, no more delays! Do bring the ransom note along with you and try to keep up with me! We have a lot of ground to cover if we wish to have the Water Float returned by nightfall!"

He set off at a march and was pleased to find the two trainees weren't dragging their feet after him. It felt nice to be leading a group again, even if this group was far less competent than either of the groups Sir Majestic Tail had been in before

Briefly, his thoughts flicked to Fluffy and his face fell slightly as he remembered their ill-fated last adventure. However, he quickly shook it off. Now wasn't the time to reminisce about the recent past. He had more important things to worry about.

"You said your name was Flame, correct?" he asked the cyndaquil. She ducked her head in embarrassment.

"My parents named me," she explained. "I guess they thought I'd become some great explorer, like the Flame of legend." She frowned, looking back up at Sir Majestic Tail. "But hey, aren't you a part of Team Flame? I heard there was a ponyta on their team."

Sir Majestic Tail gave a high-pitched nervous laugh. "Y-yes, well - " He cleared his throat. "We're just taking a brief hiatus for now. We're all very busy pokémon, you see, all with our own lives, and, well, we - "

"The team broke up, didn't it."

The matter-of-fact tone Julia delivered that line in stung Sir Majestic Tail more than it should have. He shot her a sharp backwards glance.

"How presumptuous! Going on a break is _not_ the same as breaking up!"

Julia smirked at him. "Sure."

Sir Majestic Tail glared at her for a few more seconds before looking back at Flame and asking under his breath, "And what, pray tell, is _her_ deal?"

Flame shrugged apologetically. "Julia's, uh, kind of snappish sometimes. But she's a good pokémon, I promise you that."

"So you say…" Sir Majestic Tail murmured, stealing another quick glance back. The pikachu wasn't looking at him anymore, instead staring out at the scenery with an unenthused expression. Such a strange person! "And she is also a trainee at the guild, I take it?"

"Yeah - uh, well, sorta." Flame bit her lip. "It's kinda hard to explain, but even though she's technically training with us, she isn't really into the whole 'guild experience'. She's got her own reasons for joining."

"How curious," Sir Majestic Tail said, mostly to himself. It bothered him somewhat that he wasn't all that surprised by her lack of enthusiasm. But anti-guild sentiments weren't all that uncommon, especially nowadays, what with the increasing crime rate and resurgence of dungeon-ifications of previously-ordinary locations.

What have I gotten myself into? he wondered.

* * *

**And now all but one of our leading characters have met up! What will happen in the next chapter is anyone's guess - but I'd wager my guess would be a little stronger. Read, review, and sit doing nothing all week until the next chapter is out! I'll hold you to it!**


	14. Chapter 14: Mareep

**I feel like I should start off, first and foremost, by apologizing for the tone of the last intro. It was just a little spot of poetic venting, so none of you need to worry about it at all.**

**Now then. To deal with the elephant in the room. Chapter 13 was a mess, and I'll admit it. But there's been more going on behind the scenes that I haven't told you about, and I think it's time for me to come clean about something.**

**Back when I was writing Embers of the Past, I had a lot of characters that I cherished and adored, but not all of them were good for the story. Some of these characters just complicated the plot beyond belief, and are ultimately part of the reason why I had to put the fic on indefinite hiatus. With Sparks of the Future, I wanted to prevent this from ever happening. I just wanted to write a short, sweet, and simple story to finally give my characters the endings they deserved. So these "problem characters" had to be left out.**

**He was never supposed to be in this story. I've done what I had to do.**

**None of this is my fault.**

* * *

Thick grey clouds blanketed the sky as Fluffy reached the entrance to Amp Plains. She looked up, sniffed the cold, heavy air, and entered the mystery dungeon she had spent her whole life in.

Trying to follow the wonder map had been an ordeal, mostly because nobody had bothered to teach her how to read a map. The too-neat footprint script and drawn shapes meant nothing to her. Was this little blotch a mountain or a forest or a lake? Fuck if she knew. She had really done her best, but after days of wandering in circles she finally gave up and followed her instincts home.

After all, she _was_ just a feral. Who was she to try to pretend otherwise?

Fluffy's hooves thumped heavily against the hard-packed dirt. It felt too loud, as if her footsteps were disturbing the delicate balance of the plains. Still, she marched on, ignoring any misgivings she felt. This was her homeland, her territory. Why should she feel like an outsider?

As she wound through rock-walled passageways and long stretches of field, she began to notice the sounds of feral pokémon and she picked up speed. Her flock couldn't be too far from here.

Remembering them made her pause, however. She _had_ left them rather dramatically - harassed the elder, insulted everyone, and vanished in a flash of light. Would they even accept her back?

Of course they would, she reasoned, they were stupid and had probably forgotten about the whole thing. They'd let her in like nothing had happened, and she'd rejoin them and go back to her old ways and forget all about this little adventure herself.

Grass crunched behind Fluffy and she turned to come face-to-face with another mareep. Not one of the flock, but a nice-looking one nevertheless - mottled fur, nicely-shaped wool, a pink blaze going down its muzzle. It was standing a tad close to Fluffy, though, and she took a step back to put some comfortable distance between them. The mareep took another step towards her.

"Hey, buddy," Fluffy said, "gettin' a little friendly there, aren't we?"

The mareep pulled back before suddenly headbutting her, and it wasn't a playful headbutt of camaraderie, but an attack intended to cause hurt. And it kind of hurt.

"Hey, watch it!"

The mareep didn't respond, instead opting to attempt another headbutt. Fluffy jumped to the side, out of the way, then tried changing tactics. Her flock had always been wild about nonverbal communication, so maybe it was the talking that was pissing off the mareep. She gave an angry bleat and sharply jerked her head to the side, universal for "Back the fuck off". In response, the mareep blasted Fluffy with electricity.

"You stupid sheep!" she yelled. "What are you trying to do, shear me? Get off my tail!"

The mareep still didn't step off. It continued to go after Fluffy, aiming headbutts and blasts of electricity. Out of options, Fluffy turned tail and ran. She could still hear the stupid thing thundering along in pursuit, and was so preoccupied with trying to outrun it that she accidentally ran into a minun in her path. The minun squeaked in pain and alarm and immediately shocked Fluffy as well. Fluffy yelped, then shoved it aside with a foreleg. It was a forceful shove, more of a kick, really, but she didn't have time to feel bad for it. The mareep was still after her, and now one of its friends had decided to tag along. Growling in frustration, Fluffy took off again.

"Fuck off already!" she yelled over her shoulder. "What do you even want from me?!"

After a few minutes, she managed to lose them and she stopped to take a breather, leaning against a boulder. She was panting heavily and her body ached where the mareep had hit her. The electric attacks, though less effective, also left her in mild pain. It had been a while since she had been pummeled that badly.

Those mareeps must have been mad about a mareep from another flock encroaching on their territory. That must have been the case. Fluffy had never been attacked by another mareep before, but she assumed that was just because she had been safe among her flock. She hoped that was all it was.

Wincing, she got back on her hooves, shook her fur to readjust her bag, and continued on her journey. Even if she was going back to life in the herd, she couldn't just give up this bag. Never before had she experienced the luxury of being able to carry multiple items with her at a time, and she refused to go back to the simpler times. Perhaps she'd somehow be able to get bags for the rest of her herd? She'd have to ask Bellsprout where he'd gotten it.

Her pace slowed a little as she remembered him. Bellsprout had been nice. So had Camerupt, even if he was a little brash. She'd liked that. Then there was that ponyta with the ridiculous name, Sir Majestic Tail. He had been...well, he had been stupid and full of himself and prissy and started fights for no damn reason. But…

Fluffy scuffed a hoof against the ground, furrowing her brows. But...she had to admit she missed him already. He had been different, a breath of fresh - albeit hot-headed - air. Stupid though he may have been, it was more fun to hang around him than in this dull expanse of dead grass.

No, she tried to convince herself, no matter what this place looked like, it was home. It was faithful to her, unlike that dumb ponyta. He'd called her a feral. Amp Plains didn't call her that. Her flock didn't call her that. Her flock wouldn't reject her the way he did.

Fluffy heard voices. Her first instinct was to duck for cover, but out here there was nothing to hide behind, just tall grass and boulders half her size. The voices were coming from behind her somewhere, and by the sound of it, they belonged to a group of explorers who must have entered the dungeon shortly after her.

What were the odds?

Any second now, they would appear out of the gloom and see her. In her condition, she wouldn't be able to withstand another beating, especially from explorers. Not only that, she was picking up on at least four distinct voices, meaning she'd be outnumbered. She was done for unless she ran.

But for whatever reason, Fluffy's hooves stayed firmly planted on the ground as she decided to remain frozen to the spot. Perhaps if she stayed perfectly still, they wouldn't notice her. It was stupid reasoning, but in that moment it somehow made sense to her.

The group finally made their appearance and came into view from behind a rocky outcropping. Leading the group was none other than Sir Majestic Tail, but he wasn't with his usual companions. Instead, a pikachu, a cyndaquil followed him. None of them seemed to have noticed her yet, so she remained unmoving. They could pass her by, thinking she was just another feral, and continue on their merry way.

But as Fluffy watched, Sir Majestic Tail's head turned and he locked eyes with her. Even from a distance, she could see the way he scrutinized her, trying to determine whether she really was the mareep he knew. The moment stretched out.

Then Sir Majestic Tail was running to her, and _fuck_ he was fast. She couldn't have outrun him now even if she'd changed her mind. He stopped barely a yard in front of her, still staring at her in disbelief.

"Fluffy?"

Fluffy choked out an uneasy laugh. "I know what I am, but what are you?"

"I…" Sir Majestic Tail suddenly wavered, as if he didn't know what to say. Fluffy didn't blame him; after all, the note they'd left on wasn't exactly a pleasant one. Fortunately, the awkwardness didn't last long as one of the pokémon he had travelled with, the pikachu, walked over and looked at Fluffy suspiciously.

"You know this feral?" That seemed to snap Sir Majestic Tail out of his trance.

"Sh-she's not a feral!" Sir Majestic Tail sputtered. "Her name is Fluffy and she's a fellow explorer! What, don't you see her explorer bag?"

The pikachu eyed the bag, and seemed to decide there was no point in arguing.

"I can't say I expected to see you back here," Sir Majestic Tail said, laughing uncomfortably. "You haven't gone back to your herd, now, have you?"

"No way!" Fluffy blurted. "This place sucks ass and the herd is the worst! I'm just, uh, here to see what it's like to be an explorer in Amp Plains instead of a resident."

The other members of Sir Majestic Tail's group had by now come to his side. The pikachu frowned at Fluffy, one ear raised in curiosity.

"So you're one of Ponyta's friends, huh?" she asked. "A former teammate, perhaps?"

"It's _Sir_ Majestic Tail!" the ponyta snapped. "Good grief, how difficult is it to remember three simple words?!"

Fluffy snickered. "Nah, Fire-Butt's just a friend. Like I'd team up with a loser like him!"

"M-my name is _not_ Fire-Butt!" Sir Majestic Tail stomped a hoof, cheeks burning. "Quit calling me by that horrendous nickname!"

The pikachu now wore a smirk. "Fluffy, was it? Nice to meet you. The name's Julia and that's Flame."

Sir Majestic Tail looked back to Fluffy, his ears down and his expression uncertain. "But if you wanted to join us for the time being, I wouldn't find it a disagreeable arrangement…"

Fluffy realized this may be her last chance to give up being an explorer. If she agreed to go along with them, she'd also be leaving with them, and then she'd go back to Treasure Town with them, and start living around them, and take missions like them, and have to take baths like them. But if she said no now, she could return to her flock and live out her life in peace among the dead grass and boulders -

Yeah, it wasn't even a choice. Was there ever any question what she'd choose to do?

"'Course I'll come with ya!" Fluffy bleated enthusiastically. "Not like I've got much else planned for the day!"

Looking like he was trying very hard to hide a relieved expression, Sir Majestic Tail cleared his throat and said, "Well, managing a group this large might be a challenge, but you're a capable enough pokémon! We're currently on a mission to retrieve a Water Float from the deepest part of Amp Plains." His ears suddenly pricked up. "Oh, you know this area well, don't you? Would you know of a quick route to the farthest part of the plains?"

Fluffy gave a noncommittal shrug. "I dunno, I didn't really travel around much while I was livin' here. The herd mostly stuck around in one place. Besides, it's still a mystery dungeon. There's no such thing as a 'quick route' anywhere."

"Ah, of course," Sir Majestic Tail said, sounding disappointed, "how silly of me to forget. No matter! With a group of this size, we'll have no difficulty breezing through this dungeon!"

Fluffy was inclined to agree, but something stalled her words. Something in the air had changed. It felt...heavier, somehow, and the static electricity around her had increased. Narrowing her eyes, she trotted on ahead, ignoring confused questions Sir Majestic Tail aimed at her.

She soon reached a rocky clearing that she vaguely remembered seeing a few times in the past while she'd lived here. They were definitely in the deepest part of Amp Plains now, but something felt wrong.

"Goodness, Fluffy," Sir Majestic Tail said as he approached her, "would you look at your wool! Why, it's almost doubled in size!"

Indeed, Fluffy's wool had poufed out, and she suspected she looked similar to a large, fluffy boulder.

"It's from the electricity in the air," she hissed at him under her breath. "Now quiet down, wouldja? Something's not right about this place."

"I feel it, too," Julia said, looking around suspiciously. "Could just be from the storm, but…" To herself, almost so quiet Fluffy couldn't hear it, she murmured, "Did it lie to me?"

Before Fluffy could question that, an unfamiliar voice echoed throughout the clearing. "You! Interlopers! You dare trespass on our territory?!"

As Flame groaned, "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Fluffy snapped, "Whose territory?! You're in Amp Plains, dumbass! This place is a free-for-all, in case you haven't noticed!"

Furiously, the voice shot back, "How _dare_ you act as though you know more than us! Your insolence shall be punished!"

All at once, a chain of luxios leapt out at the six from all sides. They snarled viciously, electricity sparking over their claws.

"Wh-what the hell?!" Flame squeaked, backing away. Sir Majestic Tail and Julia also took a step away from the troop, but Fluffy remained rooted at the spot, glaring defiantly.

A luxray appeared at the top of the quarry wall and leapt smoothly down in front of Fluffy. His lips were drawn back in a snarl and his eyes were narrowed to slits.

"So, you're the one who disagrees with our being here!" he growled, walking towards her. Fluffy held her ground but couldn't help but flinch away, bringing her head back towards her puffed-up fur. She'd seen shinxes around Amp Plains before, but never their evolved forms. She wouldn't be surprised if they saw her and her companions as tasty snacks.

"Yeah, that's right!" Summoning courage, Fluffy raised her head to meet the leader's eyes. "Or, at least, staking out territory. This is a bloody mystery dungeon! How pointless can - "

"What she means!" Sir Majestic Tail interrupted loudly. "We're only passing through and we intend not to disturb you!"

"Enough!" Luxray snarled. "It's too late for excuses!" He struck out at Fluffy with his wickedly-sharp claws, and though her wool shielded her from the full intensity of the attack, the force sent her staggering backwards into her teammates.

Hissing in frustration, Fluffy asked, "Y'all think these are the guys who took the thing?"

"Definitely not," Julia replied, "but it looks like we'll be fighting them, anyways!"

"B-but there's so many of them!" Flame whimpered.

Fluffy looked back at her group. "There's so many of _us_!" she countered. "We can take 'em!"

She broke from the group and charged Luxray, hitting him in a head-on tackle. That seemed to be the signal for all the luxios to attack, and the quarry was thrown into chaos as electricity and flames sparked everywhere.

Fluffy could barely keep track of who was where and who was attacking her. Her electric attacks seemed to be useless against her opponents, and they were clearly much more evolved for combat. Put simply, she was having her ass handed to her.

Fluffy's survival instinct kicked in and she scrambled to get out of the line of fire. She had just barely managed to shimmy herself and her puffed-up wool coat out from between a pair of luxios, who made a brief attempt to claw up her tail before getting distracted by a blast of fire from some less pathetic enemy, when she suddenly took a sharp-pointed slap to the face. Fluffy was sent reeling sideways, but before she could recover she was struck by a powerful electrical discharge. Even for her, an attack like that was too much. Her knees locked up as the residual charge crackled along her body and, paralyzed, she could do nothing but watch as the luxray who had attacked her bore down with tooth and claw.

Though the attacks were savage, unlike any pain she'd ever experienced before, she could barely manage a strangled cry through her slowly-dissipating paralysis. By the time she felt she could move again, her strength was too drained for her legs to carry her away from danger.

A particularly powerful slash from Luxray caused her to drop to her knees. Her entire body felt shaky and her breath was ragged. One more blow, and she'd be finished. Her teammates were too preoccupied to notice her on her last legs.

Well, she thought bitterly, that's what you get for being cocky. She bowed her head and waited for the last strike.

It didn't come.

A

"Y-yeah, I'm okay," Fluffy managed, brow furrowed as she scrutinized. "Thanks for the save."

Then the moment passed and

Now that there was a reprieve from the fighting, Fluffy nosed through her slightly-lopsided bag and pulled out an oran berry, which she quickly scarfed down. She was glad she'd had the forethought to save a couple of those berries for when she really needed them, and she made a mental note to thank Bellsprout again for the sack. Feeling a little strength return to her, she shakily rose to her hooves and looked back at her group. Julia and Flame both looked somewhat battered and Sir Majestic Tail's normally-pristine fur was covered in scrapes and grit, but they were all standing. The luxios, on the other hand, didn't appear to have been quite as lucky. They lay sprawled on the ground, clearly unable to keep fighting.

Before she could start celebrating their win, however, lightning split the sky right in front of them. Spots swam in front of Fluffy's eyes as she struggled to regain her senses. When her vision cleared, she saw Luxray standing triumphantly before them, sparks crackling along his fur.

"This battle is far from over, fools!" he yelled, baring his fangs. Fluffy took a cautious step back, eyes narrowed. Regaining one's energy from a direct hit of lightning was a common but dirty trick among electric-types.

Luxray rounded on, his angled eyes narrowing to slits. Blood trickled from his nose and Fluffy suspected the tribe's leader was none too pleased about attack against him.

"Is that really the best you can do?! I will never show mercy to the likes of you!"

The rest of the pack, battered as they were, limped over to his side with determination. For a few seconds, Fluffy thought it was the saddest display she'd ever seen, until Luxray began charging up a ball of electricity in front of his mouth and the luxios discharged electricity from their own bodies to massively increase the ball's size.

"Shit!" Fluffy stumbled backwards in panic. "Hey, uh, guys?" The sound of crackling electricity threatened to overpower her voice. "If you don't want to get blown up, you should probably run!"

But it was too late. Luxray reared up to launch the ball. For the second time, Fluffy scrunched her eyes and awaited the impact.

For the second time, the impact didn't happen.

"HALT!"

Fluffy opened her eyes, then blinked hard, unable to believe what she was seeing. Standing - or, rather, floating - between them and Luxray's group was Dusknoir. Somehow, his deep, commanding voice had gotten Luxray to pause in his attack. That, or the pokémon was just as surprised as her at Dusknoir's sudden appearance.

"And who are you?!" Luxray demanded.

Dusknoir spoke now with a gentler tone of voice. "I am Dusknoir. I beg that you forgive these pokémon for trespassing on your land. They did not mean to threaten your territory."

Luxray scoffed. "_She_ did." He jerked his head at Fluffy, who cowered back. Dusknoir turned his head to look at Fluffy, his expression just as calm as his voice.

"You must excuse this one. She's spent much of her life roaming these plains freely with no regard to boundaries. She wasn't aware of your tribe's ways."

Fluffy bit her lip to prevent herself from arguing with Dusknoir. She wanted to point out that, but it _had _been her who had provoked them.

"Please," Dusknoir went on, "grant these four brief passage through here. Afterwards, none of us shall return. We have no interest in your territory."

Luxray looked doubtful, but after casting his gaze over his beaten teammates, he lowered his head. "Very well. We will give you a few minutes. If you are still here after that, however, don't expect us to take kindly to it."

"Of course. We shall be out of your fur shortly."

Satisfied, Luxray marched out of the quarry, tail lashing, and his companions followed, shooting nervous or angered glances back at the five pokémon. Fluffy stuck her tongue out at one who happened to meet her eye.

"Are you quite alright?" Dusknoir asked, turning to the explorers.

"Yes, thanks to you!" Flame replied, looking shaken but elated. "I never thought I'd have the honour of being rescued by the Great Dusknoir!"

"Yes, many thanks!" Sir Majestic Tail added. "We are forever in your debt!"

Dusknoir held up his hands, chuckling. "Oh, please, it was no trouble for me. The safety of every pokémon is of utmost importance to me."

Julia frowned at Dusknoir, wearing an expression of calculating suspicion. "How'd you know we were here? And about those luxios?" She was voicing the concerns that Fluffy had been thinking, and the latter nodded her head emphatically, trying to mimic that expression.

"I heard about where you had gone from the marill brothers," Dusknoir replied simply. "This time of year, during the stormy season, the luxray tribe migrates to Amp Plains and makes this place their home. Due to a wrong they had faced in the past, they are highly confrontational, making this area exceptionally dangerous. I suspect whoever wrote that ransom letter knew this and intended to lure you here as a trap."

Fluffy bristled. Wrong. He was wrong. "I've lived here my whole life and I've _never_ seen those guys before!" she said. "I think I'd _know_ about them if they came every year!"

Dusknoir folded his arms, looking at her curiously. "No, I'm quite positive this is a yearly migration. You must not have come to this area during this time before."

"Yes I _have_!" she insisted, now starting to feel panicked. "The whole herd grazed here for moons two years ago! In this exact spot! What, did they just skip a year?!"

"Fluffy, please, you're being confrontational again," Sir Majestic Tail warned, looking strained. Fluffy swallowed and tried to calm herself. The last thing she wanted was to lose her link to civilization _again_ for the exact same reason.

Dusknoir didn't look angry or annoyed, however. "Very curious," he murmured. "We can discuss this further when we return to Treasure Town. For now, let us use our time wisely and retrieve the Water Float before the tribe returns."

Sighing, Fluffy nodded. It still bothered her that she somehow hadn't known about the tribe, but that could wait. Headed by Dusknoir, the group continued through the quarry until they reached its end. Placed perfectly against the back wall was a gleaming golden band adorned with a large inlaid aquamarine gem.

Flame approached the trinket and lifted it to inspect it. Even in the dim light, it sparkled brilliantly. "This has to be it, right?"

"That's most certainly a Water Float," Sir Majestic Tail agreed. "Goodness, what a lovely piece of craftsmanship! No wonder those boys were so worried about it!"

Fluffy also moved in to look at it. It was gorgeous, and if they hadn't just braved a whole tribe of luxios and a luxray for the sake of returning it to its rightful owners, she'd have been tempted to swipe it and run. She looked back to see if Julia was just as interested in it, but the pikachu wasn't looking in that direction. She was standing a little ways away, staring out at nothing. Or was she looking for something?

"Wait a minute." Flame had put the trinket away in her bag and was now frowning. "If this was all supposed to be a trap, who took the Water Float?"

Dusknoir crossed his arms again. "I'm not a gambling man, but if I was, I would bet that the true culprit is hiding in this very clearing." His gaze lazily wandered over to a particularly wide pillar of rock several yards away. "Isn't that right, thieves?"

From behind the pillar, a chuckle could be heard. Julia's eyes snapped over to it and she took a step back.

"I can't fool you, can I?" a new voice said. Out stepped a skuntank, flanked by a zubat and a koffing; the latter two both looked incredibly reluctant.

"So." Julia stared at them, her expression unreadable. "It was you, after all."

Skuntank laughed again. "You knew, and yet you willingly came out here? You're a bigger fool than I thought."

Surprised, Fluffy looked from Skuntank to Julia. They knew each other?

"Team Skull!" Flame exclaimed, balling her paws into fists. "You did this?!"

"You bested us once," Skuntank said, "and we intended to right that wrong. Of course you'd be stupid enough to come all the way to Amp Plains just to help some children. It's pathetic."

Dusknoir floated forwards, arms still folded. "You intended for the tribe to weaken these four before you finished them off yourself, correct?"

Zubat and Koffing backed away in obvious terror. Skuntank didn't move, but her voice cracked somewhat as she responded.

"Not _six_, for fuck's sake! We were just after the two of 'em! I didn't think those weaklings would need to call for so much backup." As Dusknoir kept advancing, she eventually began to creep backwards as well. "Or that you'd come 'ere to beef them up even more. Seems a little unfair, doesn't it?"

"You must understand how ironic those words sound coming out of your mouth."

Skuntank now looked genuinely nervous. "If you don't mind, I'll be taking my boys and my business elsewhere now."

"Wait!" Julia quickly ran up between Skuntank and Dusknoir. "Before you go, tell me how you knew! How did you know _we'd_ find that note and not someone else? And what did you..." She trailed off, a strangely pensive look coming over her face.

Skuntank chuckled uneasily. "Can't tell you all my secrets now, can I?" Without any more hesitation, she turned tail and fled. Koffing and Zubat quickly followed, but not before Zubat gave Julia a quick wave of his wing and a "See ya!" Within seconds, they had vanished beyond the rock quarry.

Fluffy was stupefied. There was a whole narrative here she wasn't picking up on. Some sort of rivalry, maybe a dramatic fallout full of betrayal, and lingering feelings of regret… She had no idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it was much more interesting than any drama that she'd experienced living in Amp Plains. It was now clear to her that she could never go back to life among a herd. If an explorer got to experience this much excitement just among other pokémon, their life could never be a boring one.

"Unbelievable!" Sir Majestic Tail stomped a hoof. "All of this just to exact revenge? How pathetic! What a cowardly act!"

Julia didn't respond to them. She stared vaguely into the distance, running a paw over her bandana. Dusknoir shook his head, then turned to the rest of the group.

"Some pokémon in this world just wish to stir up trouble for others. We've gotten what we came for. Come, let's return to Treasure Town and leave the luxray tribe to their business."

There were no arguments against that, and everyone retrieved their explorer badges except for Dusknoir, who simply vanished through the ground again. Fluffy shuddered, then nosed open her bag and tapped her explorer badge with her muzzle. In an instant, she was back at Amp Plain's entrance, along with Sir Majestic Tail, Flame, and Julia. Dusknoir, she assumed, had done his ghost-y thing to return all the way to Treasure Town ahead of them.

"We'd better hurry back and give the brothers their Water Float," Flame said. "If we're too late, they'll go to bed before we even get there."

Fluffy looked up at the sky. It was still dark with stormclouds, but even she could tell it was close to evening. If it were just her and Sir Majestic Tail, they could make it back in no time, but the other two weren't likely to be anywhere near as fast as them. She figured their little bodies would collapse from exhaustion if they tried to keep up.

Then a brilliant idea came to her.

"Hey, you little guys," she said, "why don't you ride on our backs?"

"Huh?"

Sir Majestic Tail opened his mouth as if to protest, then paused, reconsidering. "Ordinarily, even as powerful a pokémon as I would have some difficulty carrying two passengers on my own, but if you were to take one, we just might be able to provide transport for the whole lot!"

"A-are you sure about this?" Flame looked from Fluffy to Sir Majestic Tail. "Can you really carry all of us?"

"Sure we can!" Fluffy replied. Though she still felt sore from the fight, the oran berry had healed her enough that a little trot back to Treasure Town wouldn't be any trouble. "Hey, Fire-Butt, why don't you take Flame and I take Julia? Like types with like types, right?"

"That sounds acceptable," he replied, then bent down so Flame could climb onto his back. "Come along, Flame."

Still looking slightly uncertain, Flame clambered awkwardly onto Sir Majestic Tail's back as Julia smoothly jumped onto Fluffy's back. The pikachu was a little heavier than Fluffy expected and she winced. Carrying her all the way back wasn't going to be fun.

With everyone ready to go, Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy set off back towards Treasure Town, the former trotting ahead in the lead. It wasn't long before he'd increased his speed and Fluffy had to really push herself just to keep up. She somehow kept forgetting just how bloody fast that guy was.

For most of the ride, Julia was oddly quiet. Fluffy was dying to ask her about what had happened back there with 'Team Skull', or ask if she knew anything about what had happened with Team Flame, but she thought it might be rude to interrupt the pikachu's thoughts.

Eventually, curiosity won over politeness and Fluffy began, "So. Julia, was it?"

Julia gave a noncommittal grunt.

Not much of a conversationalist, Fluffy noted. "That's a pretty cool name, isn't it? Does it have any meaning?"

A few moments of silence went by and Fluffy wondered if she'd offended Julia until the pikachu finally replied, "Probably not. It's just a bunch of sounds."

Fluffy wasn't that easily deterred and she went on, "What was up with those guys back there? Old partners?"

Julia sighed heavily. "Yeah, I guess. I was partnered with them up until very recently. We had some...disagreements."

This wasn't the prime gossip material Fluffy had been hoping for. It didn't help that Julia sounded so disinterested in conversing. "So...what happened?" Fluffy prompted.

For another few moments, Julia was quiet. Then, unexpectedly, Julia posed a question of her own.

"Fluffy, have you noticed anything...weird lately?"

The question took Fluffy by surprise. "That's kind of vague, y'know. What do you mean by 'weird'?"

"Something's been bugging me recently." Julia sounded distant and her voice was hesitant, as if she wasn't sure she should be talking about this. "I don't know if it's just the way this - the world works, or if I'm just losing my mind or memory or something, but...it feels like there are holes everywhere."

Fluffy glanced back at Julia, shooting her a confused expression. "Holes?"

Julia shook her head. "No, maybe that's not the right word. It's just...doesn't it feel like some things are just too...convenient?"

"Uh…" Fluffy laughed uncomfortably. What Julia was saying was kind of weirding her out. "I don't think I follow."

Julia sighed again, a long, tired sigh. "Forget it. It's nothing."

At this point, Fluffy noticed she was falling farther behind Sir Majestic Tail, so she sped up a little, inadvertently bouncing Julia a little bit. Her mind wandered as she tried to understand what Julia had meant. Holes...and things being too convenient? Was she being philosophical? Fluffy wasn't sure she'd be able to comprehend those sorts of concepts.

Convenience...fortune…

Her brows furrowed as she remembered something. Something that didn't add up about this Amp Plains trip.

"Hey, Julia," she began cautiously, "after I met up with you, didn't it feel like we got to the quarry awfully quickly?"

"I remember it taking an hour or so," Julia replied, "but I suppose that's not very - "

"An hour?!" Fluffy repeated incredulously. "We were there in, like, a few minutes!"

Now Julia's voice hardened with suspicion. "It was definitely longer than that. Maybe you took a shorter route?"

Fluffy had once again fallen behind, but she didn't care about that right now. She looked back at Julia again, trying to comprehend this anomaly. "What do you mean, 'maybe I took a shorter route'? I was with you the whole time!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you went off on your own for a bit." Julia was frowning at the ground, a paw raised to her mouth as she thought. "You...you went after someone."

"No, I did fucking not!" Fluffy's wool was puffing out in agitation. "Who did I go after, huh?! Do you remember that?!"

Julia's eyes narrowed. "No. I can't remember."

Before Fluffy could dwell too long on the significance of that, another thought came to her, this one too pressing to ignore.

"Wait, the fight!" she blurted, letting off a discharge of electricity that jolted the pikachu on her back. "I - I was fighting with Luxray, and he was beating the tar outta me, when somethin' - somethin' happened to him! I thought it was one of you who saved me, but…" Her eyes went wide. "...when I looked back, you all were behind me! Someone else musta - but who?!"

Julia blinked, looking a little startled by the outburst. "But wasn't that Dusknoir - ?"

"No, he came after!" Fluffy insisted. It felt like it was getting harder to breathe. She took in several slow, deep breaths to calm herself and tried to turn her attention back on the journey home. She didn't like the implications of this conversation one little bit.

"Fluffy?" Julia asked. "You good?"

"Julia...how many of us were there?"

"Huh?"

Fluffy swallowed hard. "I mean, how many explorers went into Amp Plains? How many of us fought the luxray tribe?"

"That was…four."

"Are you sure about that."

Julia was starting to sound uneasy. "You think there were more of us?"

"Well, I don't know!" Fluffy snapped, mind racing. "How else would you explain all this weird shit? How could we forget what happened between the time we met and when we got to the quarry? Who saved me from Luxray? I only remember you and Flame and Fire-Butt and - and - !"

Her mind kept drawing blanks. She reached out for the answers she knew should be there, but kept coming up empty. Where the explanations should have been, there were only holes.

How long had she been silent now, moving on autopilot while her brain furiously tried to comprehend the situation? Nothing about this made sense. How could her memories differ from those of someone else who was there with her? And as she dwelled on this, sinking further into the mental rabbithole, the exchange she'd had with Dusknoir resurfaced. How was it possible that his truth differed from hers? There had never been any luxray tribe, she was sure of it, yet there they had been, claiming that territory as their own.

No, she thought, then she said it out loud.

"No, this is just...it's just a memory issue." Her laugh was hollow. "We're - we're just both being real forgetful here, misrememberin' stuff! That's all it is!"

"Fluffy, that's not - "

"Don't freak me out like that, ha ha! Man, that's what I get for hangin' around ferals too much! Memory like a magikarp!" Fluffy forced a grin until it became genuine. What was she so worried about, anyways? She knew better than anyone time and space were a little fucky in mystery dungeons, and that was surely what caused her mental clarity to take a hit.

Julia shifted around slightly on Fluffy's back. "Fine, pretend nothing's wrong," she muttered, sounding slightly irritated. Silence stretched out between them, during which Fluffy was sure Julia must have been thinking over their conversation. The quiet began to feel awkward and Fluffy decided to change the subject.

"So, you wanna talk about those thugs now? They set you up, or was running into 'em just a coincidence?"

"Again with Team Skull?" Fluffy heard Julia snort. "It was a set-up. You'd think with all the coincidences I've been dealin' with lately it'd just be more dumb luck, but apparently not."

Coincidence...luck.

Fluffy broke from her musing to check how far the ponyta was from her. To her dismay, she spotted him a great deal farther, appearing only as a small fiery speck in the distance. Bristling with newfound determination, she charged on ahead, sprinting as fast as she could to catch up to him. By the time she got within a few yards of him, she was panting hard and her legs felt as weak as blades of grass, but she pushed on until she could pull up beside him.

"Ah, Fluffykins!" Sir Majestic Tail greeted upon noticing her. "How kind of you to join us!"

"F-Fluffykins?" she echoed between gasping breaths. Recognizing her exhaustion, Sir Majestic Tail slowed to a walk.

"Why, yes! The three of us were having a lovely conversation about that dreadful name you've insisted on using for me, and as a group, we've decided upon one for you!" He smirked, raising his head. "Of course, _I_ was the one who suggested it, but Flame and Julia have agreed it is equally as degrading as your name for me. How do you like _them_ apples?"

Fluffy shot a questioning look at Flame and Julia. The former gave a faint half-smile and a shrug and the latter simply stared at her blankly, dead-eyed. It wasn't hard to deduce the nature of the conversation Sir Majestic Tail must have had with them.

"Oh yeah, Fire-Butt," Fluffy deadpanned, "you sure got me."

Sir Majestic Tail looked immensely proud of himself. "Ha! I knew it! And now that you've been bested, will you admit defeat and cease your use of...nyergh…'Ffffffire-Butt'?" It sounded like it pained him even to say those last two words aloud.

"Eh, I'll think about it," Fluffy responded. Of course, she was never even going to consider calling Sir Majestic Tail anything but Fire-Butt, but she might as well give him this one victory. It may very well be the only one he'd ever experience.

Before he could celebrate too much, though, Fluffy asked, "So, what's up with your team, huh? I heard you guys split up."

Sir Majestic Tail recoiled and his flames briefly grew a little brighter. "Goodness, you've heard some dreadful misinformation! No no no, we haven't 'split up', it's only a temporary parting, I'm sure of it!"

"I'm sorry to hear about it, anyways." Fluffy offered him a sympathetic smile. "I hope you guys get back together soon."

Looking surprised at Fluffy's reaction, Sir Majestic Tail said, "Well, I - though your concern isn't necessary, I appreciate the sentiment, Fluffy." He quickly corrected himself, "I mean, Fluffykins."

After a moment of silence, he asked, "And you? Are you going to be staying in Treasure Town now?"

Fluffy looked up at the dark sky. It must have been almost night by this point. "At least for now, yeah," she replied. "Not like I've got much of a choice. I don't have anywhere to run off to before nightfall."

"I see." Sir Majestic Tail looked away, looking almost embarrassed. Was he being...shy? "Perhaps...if you have noplace else to stay the night...that is to say, I don't expect you _do_ have any other location in mind, unless you were considering the guild, which quite frankly I'd say is a lousy idea - er, no offense to any of you, I just find that establishment has gone down in quality over the years, is all - "

"This needs to stop," Julia interrupted, staring at Fluffy with an unreadable expression, causing Sir Majestic Tail to flinch. Even Flame and Julia were looking at the ponyta in pity at this point.

"Yes, er, well - " He cleared his throat. "I expect the Team Flame base shall have some room to spare, if you had any interest in spending the night…"

Fluffy couldn't help but snicker at that. "If you wanted me to sleep over, you coulda just told me plainly."

"It's not that I _wanted_ you to sleep over - I mean - !" Sir Majestic Tail ducked his head and pinned his ears, his face going red. "O-oh, would you look at the sky! And how dark it seems to be getting! Come along, we must pick up the pace at once!"

He broke into a canter so suddenly that Flame, sitting in the back, was nearly thrown off, and soon Sir Majestic Tail had achieved a speed Fluffy had no chance of matching. Within no time, he was nothing more than a speck in the distance once again.

"

Fluffy cracked a grin and bucked playfully to bounce him. "Aw, shaddup."

Feeling her cheeks grow warm, Fluffy picked up a trot and chased the speeding ponyta towards her new future.

* * *

**This will all pass. See you next week for chapter 15.**


	15. Chapter 15: Cyndaquil

**Why do you keep doing this? Why do you insist on inserting yourself into my story like this? You already had your time, your spot in the glory. Look at what you're making me do.**

**I hope this is what you wanted.**

* * *

"Thanks again for the ride!"

Flame stood with Julia, Sir Majestic Tail, and Fluffy at the crossroads. Above them, the dark clouds had begun to part, revealing inky-black patches of night sky speckled with stars. The six had, regrettably, arrived back in town well after nightfall. It was much too late to return the marill brothers' Water Float to them today, but at least it was safe in Flame's possession for now. Better returned late than never.

"It was my pleasure!" Sir Majestic Tail said, flicking his burning tail back and forth a few times. "If you happen to stumble upon Marill and Azurill tomorrow without us present, please let them know of our massive contributions to the search. Or, rather, _my_ massive contribution and Fluffy's...above-average size contribution."

Fluffy snorted at that but didn't bother making a retort. "See you kids 'round," she said, then turned and began to walk back down the path. "C'mon, Fire-Butt, let's go home so I can sleep."

"Er, I wouldn't call it _home_, per se," Sir Majestic Tail corrected as he followed her, "but rather 'the base', that's a more accurate name for it…"

His voice faded into the distance and so too did the light from his flames. Soon, Flame and Julia were alone.

"Guess we'd better head back to the guild," Flame said, turning to her partner. Julia didn't respond. She was frowning at the ground, paws crossed over her chest. Flame waved a paw in front of her face.

"Julia? You're spacing out again."

That seemed to snap Julia back to reality. She shook her head as if to clear it, then offered Flame a very strained and insincere smile.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something. Let's just go."

Before she could start walking towards the guild's steps, however, Flame reached out and grabbed her paw.

"Hang on a sec."

Julia turned her head back sharply, and for a brief moment, so brief Flame might have imagined it, the pikachu's eyes seemed to light up with panic. But then her expression went back to neutral as she calmly responded, "What?"

"I, uh…" Flame cringed inwardly and dropped her gaze from Julia's face to focus on their paws instead. "I'm sorry, I just - you've been acting kind of weird today, like, spacing out a lot and saying things I don't really understand, and…" Flame bit her lip, feeling awkward, then forced herself to meet Julia's eyes again. "...and I just wanted you to know, if there's something that's bothering you, you can tell me about it."

Julia looked hesitant, like she didn't know how to respond. Flame quickly added, "Y-you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but...I wanted you to know I'm here for you, and maybe I can help you…"

After a moment, Julia's expression softened and she replied, "I appreciate that, but I don't think this is the kind of thing you'd even be able to help with. Thanks, anyways."

Flame laughed awkwardly. "Y-yeah, anytime…"

They said nothing more as they ascended the stairs and made their way to the grate. Flame had never returned to the guild this late at night, but she'd have figured Diglett and Loudred were by now used to guild members coming home at strange hours of the night.

However, when Julia stepped onto the grate, this time nothing happened. Only silence greeted them. The two pokémon exchanged confused glances, then Julia crouched down and squinted through the holes of the grate.

"Hey, anyone home?" she called down. A few seconds passed, and still there was no answer. She straightened up and looked back at Flame expectantly. "This normal guild behaviour?"

"Maybe they're busy having dinner?" Flame suggested, joining Julia over the grate. She tried to squint into the gloom, but it was pitch black beneath her feet. There was no way to tell if anyone was down there.

"That's bullshit," Julia muttered, sweeping her gaze over to the metal bars over the guild tent's entrance. "How are we supposed to get in?"

"I guess we'll have to wait," Flame said with a frown. "That sucks."

The two settled down in front of the tent and sat in silence for a while. Flame kept stealing quick glances at Julia, trying to guess what she was thinking about, but the pikachu was as stoic as usual.

When enough time had passed for the guild to have theoretically finished with dinner, Flame returned to the grate and stood over it again. Yet again, there was no sentry to identify her and let her in.

"Whaddaya say we just burn down the bloody grate and break in?" Julia suggested, locking a death glare on the wooden mesh.

"N-no, we can't do that!" Flame protested, waving her paws frantically. "What'll Chatot say if the grate gets wrecked again?!"

"Good riddance, perhaps?"

It didn't look like Julia was bluffing. From her attack stance to the sparks beginning to crackle from her cheeks, she appeared to be two seconds away from making mulch of the poor grate. The only thing standing between Julia and her enemy was Flame, and if she didn't act fast…

"Okay, uh," Flame began, "I know you're hungry and tired - I am, too - but let's just think about this for a second! They've only _just_ rebuilt the grate, and if

Julia blinked at her, suddenly looking confused. "If what?"

Thankfully, before Julia could make good her threat, there came the sound of flapping wings within the barred wigglytuff tent. Julia and Flame both looked over in time to see Chatot alighting on the top rung of the ladder. Their eyes met and he squawked in surprise.

"Flame?! And Julia, too?! What in heaven's name are you two doing out there?!"

"Sorry, Chatot," Flame said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Our expedition today ran late. We only just got back."

For a moment, it looked as though Chatot was about to reprimand them, but then his irate expression turned into one of concern. "Well, for goodness' sake, someone had better let the two of you in!" he said hastily. "I'll fetch Loudred at once!"

He flew off back down the ladder tunnel and vanished from view. Flame gave a sigh of relief.

"Good thing Chatot showed up!" She laughed lightly. "Now we don't need to get our mugshots on the outlaw notice board just to enter!"

Julia nodded slowly, her brows furrowed. "Hey, why'd you cut yourself off back there?"

"Cut myself off?"

"Yeah, when you were saying they'd only just rebuilt the grate?"

Flame tilted her head to the side. What was Julia talking about? "Rebuilt the grate? When did I say that?"

"J - " Julia stared at Flame incredulously. "Just now. Are you messing with me?"

"I'm not!" Flame said, defensive. "I never said anything like that! I wouldn't even _know_ if the grate's ever had to be rebuilt. You'd think it'd probably have to be replaced every now and then, what with so many pokémon walking over it every day…"

"But…" Julia's ears folded back and a look of mingled confusion and disappointment crossed her face as she looked away. Suddenly worried she'd said something wrong, Flame took a step forward and put a paw on Julia's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I'm sorry if I offended you. I don't want you to think I'm some kind of suck-up who know everything about the guild - if, er, if that's what you thought I was being."

Before Julia could give a response, a metallic noise alerted the two of them to the gate being raised. Julia gave Flame one more look, expression unreadable, before she headed in and silently climbed down the ladder. Chewing her lip, Flame followed.

Once they reached the crew room, Flame noticed the place was completely empty. None of their guildmates seemed to be out and about. They must have already gone to their respective rooms. Flame's stomach knotted when she realized that meant she'd likely have to go to bed without a proper dinner.

"Ah, you two!"

Chatot flew down the ladder and landed in front of them. "Apologies for the delay. I couldn't wake up Loudred for the life of me, so I had no choice but to open the gate myself." His usually cheerful voice sounded somewhat flat and he looked tired.

"No, we're sorry for getting back so late," Flame responded guiltily. "We didn't think everyone would already be in bed."

"No worries, no worries! As long as you've done good work, that's all that matters."

Julia was the one to ask, "Hey, is something wrong? You look worse than usual."

Both Flame and Chatot flinched. Flame fully expected Chatot to fly off the handle and deliver an hours-long lecture on manners, but apparently Julia had chosen the right time to insult him because he merely gave a halfhearted chuckle.

"You're the painfully observant one, aren't you?" His expression became one of deep concern. "I've had to deliver some very unfortunate news tonight at dinner. I suppose now is as good a time as any to let you two in on it."

"Did something happen?" Flame asked nervously. "Is everyone in the guild okay?"

Chatot clenched his beak. "It's not pleasant news. A second Time Gear has been stolen."

Flame jumped in alarm. "Another one?!" A horrible thought dawned on her, but before she could voice it, Chatot shook his head.

"Not the one at Fogbound Lake, thankfully. But a stolen Time Gear is an atrocity, regardless of where it was stolen from. And for as hard as Officer Magnezone and his team have been working, there are still no leads on the perpetrator. There's very little we can do about the situation for the time being."

It pained Flame to see the normally-upbeat Chatot so forlorn, so she put on a determined face. "We'll just have to keep doing our best, right?" she said, making a fist. "The second we know who's the thief, we'll do everything we can to hunt them down and bring justice to them!"

Chatot looked taken aback by Flame's sudden change of attitude, and even Julia seemed surprised. "W-well, of course! You're absolutely correct!" Chatot flapped his wings briskly, beaming at her. "I see we've taught you well here at the guild! Keep up the positivity!"

"Yes, sir!" Flame responded, saluting. She then felt her stomach twist again and she winced. "Um, Chatot, there isn't any chance there's leftovers from dinner for us, right…?"

Chatot's smile hardly faltered. "Any leftovers we may have from dinner are fed to whoever is currently at the table desiring seconds!"

"R-right, that's fair…" Flame mumbled.

Seeing her cheerfulness dissipate, Chatot continued, "However, IF and only IF you promise not to mismanage it and return any change you may have, I suppose it would be doable to offer you enough Poké to buy yourselves a breakfast at Spinda's Café."

That was enough to bring her spirits back up. "Really?! Thank you so much!"

Chatot waved a wing at her. "Of course, it's no trouble. Anything for my apprentices. Now off to bed with the two of you! You may come see me in the morning about your breakfast money."

He took wing and flew back up through the ladder tunnel, presumably to return to his perch by the guild entrance. Flame turned to Julia and gave her a half-smile.

"I guess you win some, you lose some, right?" she said. "No dinner, plus another Time Gear stolen, but...at least we'll get a good breakfast, right?"

Julia shrugged indifferently. "Sure."

The two walked through the crew room towards their bedroom. Flame had at first been wary of Julia joining her in the far room, but so far Julia was a very peaceful roommate. Though the faint scent of Team Skull lingered on her, Flame had gotten quite used to it by now and was even beginning to find the aroma strangely pleasant.

Julia trailed behind Flame as they made their way down the hall, looking into each room they passed. She paused before the doorway of one of the rooms near the end of the hall. Flame stopped as well, waiting for Julia to continue, but the pikachu appeared to be distracted by something.

"You coming?" Flame whispered.

"Who sleeps here?" Julia whispered back.

Raising an eyebrow, Flame joined Julia in the room's entranceway. The room was empty, featuring one window and two perfectly-made, untouched beds. This was where Flame had stayed when Team Skull had temporarily taken over her room.

"It's just a spare room in case anyone else joins," Flame explained under her breath. She smiled slightly. "What, you want to abandon me already?"

A soft laugh escaped Julia's mouth before she could stifle it and she quickly responded, "Of course not. I was just curious."

Curiosity apparently satisfied, Julia walked the rest of the way with Flame to their room and they each settled into their respective beds. Flame couldn't help but watch Julia as she curled up with her head resting on her paws as if she was about to go to sleep, only to continue staring at nothing with half-lidded eyes.

Softly, Flame said, "Julia, I really did mean it."

Julia turned her tired eyes to Flame, expressionless.

"If there's something, anything you need to talk about…" Flame smiled again. "...I promise I won't get mad at you, or not believe you, or whatever you're worried about. You've already helped me out a lot, and...and I know you feel bad about bullying me back then, but I want to help you, too, even if it's just listening to what you have to say."

Julia seemed to consider this, then she smirked and closed her eyes. "To hell with it. I'll tell you everything tomorrow at the café. It probably won't work, but I can't say no to a cute face like that."

Flame blushed and quickly averted her gaze. Cute face? Did Julia really think she looked cute?

She curled up into her bed to hide her supposedly cute face from view and mumbled, "'Kay, sounds good, g'night." Across the room, she could hear Julia make another quiet noise that sounded like a soft chuckle or maybe just a huffy sigh, but when Flame peeked at her again she was relieved to see she looked like she was actually going to sleep this time.

Feeling strangely warm, Flame too closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Her dreams were filled with embarrassing situations and confusing, nonsensical conversations between her and the pokémon she'd just been partnered with, and when she woke up in the morning she felt no better rested than she'd been before she'd gone to sleep. She wanted nothing more than to curl up and try to fall back into unconsciousness, but the emptiness in her belly forced her out of bed.

Flame woke Julia, who thankfully seemed to have forgotten about the awkwardness of last night - or, more likely, was pretending it didn't happen - and the two headed to the crew room for the morning address. Guildmaster Wigglytuff sleepwalked his way through the entire address and half the guild was glaring daggers at, but after this long, Chatot barely gave the shenanigans any notice and proceeded with the address as normal.

After the address was over, the pokémon either proceeded upstairs or to their respective posts. Julia was heading towards the ladder when Flame reached over and grabbed her paw to stop her.

"Hey, um, you remember what you said last night?"

Julia paused, thinking. "That I'd tell you about what's been bugging me, right?"

That wasn't quite the answer Flame had been expecting. "I meant the part where you said you'd explain what the deal was with Team Skull."

Now it was Julia's turn to look confused. "I'm pretty sure I didn't even mention them."

"S-sorry," Flame mumbled, "I guess I must be remembering it wrong. But didn't you say you'd tell me about how you knew they'd written the note? You said we could talk about it at Spinda's Café."

Julia stared at her for a moment, and Flame felt like she was being intensely scrutinized.

"...Yeah, that must've been what I said," Julia finally replied. "Remind me what else I told you? I'm having a little trouble remembering exactly what we talked about."

"Um, well, you told me you'd explain that thing, and - oh! You wanted me to remind you about asking Chatot for money for breakfast!" Flame gave a hesitant chuckle. "Though you kind of phrased it more like you'd bully him for it…"

Julia nodded slowly, putting a paw to her chin. "Then he didn't offer to pay for us last night?"

Julia's behaviour was starting to really weird Flame out. It was as if Julia had completely forgotten the events of last night. "Don't you remember? We got home so late the guild had already been closed up so we didn't get any dinner, and then we got so caught up talking about the stolen Time Gear that we forgot to ask him about breakfast."

"Right, I remember that now," Julia said unconvincingly. "Sorry, my dreams must've messed me up a little."

"R-right, that must be what happened."

Giving a nod, Julia approached the doors to Wigglytuff's office, behind which Chatot had vanished at the end of the morning address, and rapped her knuckles against the wood.

"Hey, Chatot?" she called. "I'd like to ask you something."

A door opened slightly and Chatot peered out at her. "Yes? What is it?"

"Since we got back from our assignment so late last night, and we didn't get any dinner, I was thinking it'd be nice of you if you could lend us a hand - wing - in the food department."

Chatot narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "If you're asking for food, you should know the guild doesn't serve breakfast. I wouldn't make Chimecho work overtime."

"Of course, I'm fully aware of that," Julia replied. "You may be a taskmaster, but you're fair."

"Yeeeees, you could say that." Chatot seemed to be retreating behind the door slightly. "Where are you going with this?"

"What I'm saying is, since we weren't able to have dinner last night, wouldn't it be fair for the guild to provide us enough money for breakfast?"

"E-excuse me?!"

"We all pay the hefty tax for training here with the expectation that our money also goes towards providing us with a good meal each day. And since we didn't get that meal yesterday, it's only fair for us to receive reimbursement, wouldn't you say?"

Flame was surprised at Julia's negotiating skills. If she had been in Chatot's place, she would have been totally swayed by this argument. Unfortunately, she wasn't in Chatot's place, and the bird looked more resilient than ever.

"It's not the guild's fault if you're late to come home!" he squawked. "Enough meals are made for each guild member, and if they don't show up, the extra food goes to the other members. It's your own responsibility to finish your jobs in a timely fashion!" His expression became victorious. "You could even say not coming home in time for dinner is an important lesson!"

Julia's ears drooped slightly and her voice took on a hard edge. "But sir, surely a small bit of change for food isn't a huge expenditure? After all, we wouldn't be able to do our jobs properly if we're not well-fed. Isn't that responsibility on the guild?"

"Silence!" Chatot snapped. "I'll have no more of this talk! It's your own fault you didn't get dinner, and it's your own responsibility to amend the problem you caused! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have important business to take care of!"

"A-ah…" Chatot kept opening and closing his beak, trying to form words. Finally, horrified alarm spread over his face and he exclaimed, "Good gods, no! I forbid all four of you from leaving this guild until I've given you enough money to prevent you from publicly fainting! Oh, goodness, what would the Exploration Team Federation say about this?! What a nightmare!" He ducked behind the door before quickly popping his head back out to yell, "None of you move from that spot, you hear me?!"

A few short seconds later, Chatot reemerged with a sizeable sack gripped firmly in a talon.

"Here you are," he said, his voice hurried, "there should be more than enough Poké in there for the four of you to afford breakfast. And please, for the love of Arceus, don't starve yourselves! If you ever feel on the verge of passing out from hunger, please don't hesitate to ask me or the Guildmaster for assistance!"

Julia stared at Chatot like he was insane. "What."

He was smiling as if he was being forced to at knife-point, and he quickly retreated back to the office doors. "Have a lovely day, you four! And don't forget not to faint in public!"

The door slammed and there was silence for several long seconds.

"Holy SHIT," said Loudred from where he stood at the sentry hole, "you son of a BITCH."

Slowly, Julia turned to Flame, her eyes wide and a bewildered expression on her face. "Wh...Flame, you just heard all that, right? Please tell me you heard that."

Flame shrugged. "I heard that. What's wrong?"

"Y - " Julia was shaking, her paws clenched into fists. Flame thought she resembled a volcano on the verge of exploding. Finally, Julia erupted.

"What the actual FUCK just happened?! He - he just changed his mind! All of a sudden! We didn't even DO anything and he just started yammering on about STARVING! What the FUCK is going ON here?!"

Flame took a nervous step back from the raving pikachu. "Julia, you're - you're not making sense - "

"I'M not making sense?!" Julia dove in and grabbed Flame by the shoulders, shaking her. "Do you have ANY IDEA about any of this? Am I seriously the only one who sees there's something horribly fucking wrong here?!"

"GODS, pipe DOWN, will ya?" Loudred shouted at her, putting a hand on his hip. "I know I'M loud, but you're giving me a RUN for my MONEY with all this YELLING!"

Julia whirled on him next and pointed accusingly at him. "You called someone a 'son of a bitch'! Who was that? Who were you talking to?"

Loudred waved a hand at her. "You're HEARING things! Might wanna check yourself in to the LOONEY BIN if this is how you're gonna be carrying on!"

Seeing Julia so in distress was making Flame's chest ache. In spite of her nervousness, she reached out and put a paw on Julia's shoulder.

"H-hey, Julia, you're kind of scaring me right now. Maybe if you calm down a bit, you can tell me what's wrong."

Julia looked like she was about to protest, but then she let out a long sigh and her entire body went lax. "It's no use. I thought I could try to explain it to you, but how can I convince you there's something wrong with this world if you can't even remember the things that are going wrong?"

Flame felt lost. It was clear something was really bothering Julia, and it seemed that she had trusted Flame to be able to share in her feelings, but Flame was letting her down. "I...I'm sorry."

The pikachu shook her head slowly, her drooping ears flopping against her head. "It's not your fault. But…" Her expression hardened and she looked Flame in the eyes seriously. "There's got to be a way for you to understand. Why don't you...try retelling the events that just went down? Can you explain how we got Chatot to give us money for breakfast?"

It was a weird request, but it if would make Julia feel better, it was worth it to go through with it. "I - I guess so. So, you started by knocking at the door and asking him for breakfast money, and you tried to sweet-talk him into giving it to us, but it wasn't working. Then…"

Blank.

"...Then…"

There was nothing there.

"...He...he…"

Something was missing.

"...Oh my gods."

Some_one_ was missing.

Julia watched Flame intently as the realization slowly dawned on her. It felt like the world around Flame was splintering and falling away, each piece too small to grasp before it fell into the black. Julia was right. There was something very, very wrong.

Suddenly, even the events of last night began to blur together. What had happened? Who had they spoken with? Why were there gaps in Flame's memory? She could distinctly remember the mood being light-hearted up until she'd fallen asleep - that's right, Julia had said they'd go on a date to Spinda's Café, and Flame had gotten embarrassed because of that particular wording, and before that the _four _of them had had a talk with Chatot and though the matter of a stolen Time Gear was a serious one, they'd still managed to joke around and keep the mood light, and before Chatot had let them in, Flame had had to try to talk Julia and _him _out of breaking down the grate to get in, because _he_ and _the other one_ had broken in the night _they_ joined the guild, but -

"Four of us," Flame said quietly, as if waking from a trance. "Julia...there were…"

Relief flooded into Julia's face. She covered her face with a paw, laughing softly. "Oh, thank god. You remember."

"Wh-why are you laughing?!" Flame demanded angrily. "I don't remember anything! I don't understand a thing! There were four of us, weren't there?! Six of us went on that expedition yesterday!" Now she was trembling, desperately racking her brain for answers. "It was me, you, Sir Majestic Butt, Fluffy, and - "

Flame felt Julia's paw on her shoulder and she looked up to see Julia giving her a sympathetic smile. "Come on, let's go to Spinda's Café. We can talk about everything there. I'm sure we'll feel better about the whole thing if we're not starving."

Flame didn't think any amount of culinary satisfaction would make this easier to digest, but she simply nodded and let Julia lead her out of the guild. Outside, the sky was a bright and vibrant blue, speckled with only a few clouds here and there. Flame couldn't bring herself to enjoy it, however. She felt a certain hollowness inside. Was this what Julia had been feeling last night? Was that why she had been so distant?

But then her second set of memories refuted this, arguing that Julia hadn't been distant at all, that nothing had been out of the ordinary. Her thoughts clashed, fought, and came out in a confused truce.

It was just as a headache began to come on as a result from the fruitless battle that someone bumped into Flame from behind and knocked her over.

"Oof! Oh, I'm mighty sorry, Flame!"

"Bidoof?" Flame picked herself up and looked back at the pokémon who had bumped into her. She'd almost forgotten the rest of the world still existed. "How're you doing?"

Bidoof shuffled awkwardly, eyes cast at the ground. "I, er, I'm doing alright. Um, you're not busy or nothin' right now, are you?"

Flame wanted nothing more than to pretend everything was okay and just stop to have a pleasant chat with her first friend at the guild, but she couldn't do that with such a concerning matter presently at hand. "Sorry, Bidoof, something important has come up. I'm just about to go to breakfast with these guys."

The last two words had just slipped out and she clapped a paw over her mouth in alarm, but Bidoof hadn't seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary.

His blush deepened and his ears drooped.

"Heck, and now I'm makin' things even worse for me!" he whimpered. "L-look, why don't you just forget I said anything and head off to your breakfast? Wouldn' wanna keep Pikachu waiting, no siree! I'll just be off, doin'...whatever, if you need me, or change your mind, so...see you!"

"Bidoof, w-wait!" Flame started, but Bidoof had already turned tail and run back into the tent to escape down the ladder. She looked back at Julia, who offered her a pained half-smile.

"What just…?" Flame trailed off and swallowed. "How long have you been dealing with this, Julia?"

"It only got _really_ bad yesterday," Julia said, "but I've had the feeling of something bein' off since the expedition." She pressed her lips together into a thin line, then turned and beckoned Flame with a paw. "No more distractions. Let's get over to the café already."

The four soon came to the bottom of the stairs and arrived at the crossroads. Just off the path, between the roads that led into town and to the beach, was a signpost that proudly displayed 'Spinda's Café! Now open for business!' in bold footprint script. Beneath it was a wide stairway leading into the ground.

No words were exchanged as the two proceeded to the entrance and walked down into the café.

The staircase was somewhat long, and at the end it opened up into a big, octagonal room with fancy wood-panelled floors and walls. There were several round tables about the room, most of which were occupied, and two bars on either side of the far wall. Despite the café being underground, it was well-lit from above. Flame looked up and was surprised to see balls of light embedded in various spots in the ceiling.

"What on earth…?" she murmured under her breath, mesmerized. Next to her, Julia also looked up.

"Huh, looks like they've got lights installed here," she said, sounding much less amazed than Flame expected her to be. "Didn't know those existed around here."

"Powered by electricity?" Flame echoed, glancing over at him. "How do you know?"

There was no one there.

"Shit!" Flame turned to Julia, who had also noticed Flame's out-of-the-blue question. "Why? Why did I - ?"

Julia shook her head. "Let's order breakfast quickly and find a place to sit so we can discuss this properly." She looked around the room, taking in the scarcity of free tables. "Damn, hope we'll be able to find a spot."

The two wove their way past the occupied tables and walked over to the bar by the far left corner of the room, behind which a spinda danced back and forth in a dizzying fashion, metal shaker in hand. A few pokémon were already in line, but the line went quickly and it was soon Julia and Flame's turn.

"Good morning, good morning!" Spinda greeted, staggering about even as he spoke. "What can I get for you two?"

Judging by the large glass jars full of colourful liquid placed on either side of the counter and the stacks of glasses next to those, the café was predominantly focussed on beverages, but in the shelf behind Spinda, there were also pastries and baked goods on display among the berries. Despite being somewhat mentally preoccupied, it was all Flame could to do stop her mouth from watering.

"Um, let's see…" She checked the sandwich board menu to the left of the counter. "I think I'll have...I'll try the Pecha Puff, that sounds good. And maybe I'll get an OranCheri Smoothie."

Spinda leaned over the counter, giving her an encouraging look. "Maybe…?"

Flame blushed. "I mean, yes. I'll get it."

Spinda smiled and went back to wobbling. "And for you, miss?"

"I'll have a…" Julia squinted at the sign. "...The hell's that say? Black...bluk fruit?"

"Oh, sorry, my handwriting's a little messy!" Spinda apologized. "You must be looking at the Bluk Berry Protein Bar! It's a hot item!"

Julia scrunched her nose up and turned to Flame. "Why don't you just pick something for me? I can't read that."

The writing on the board didn't look _that_ difficult to read, Flame thought, but then she remembered that Julia used to be a human. She must not be used to reading footprint script.

"How does a Shuca Shake sound?" Flame suggested. Julia shrugged.

"Yeah, why not. And I'll get one of those reddish loaf things back there."

"Coming right up!" Spinda said. "That'll be 3600 Poké total!"

The price was much higher than Flame had expected, but she supposed it was fair for a fancy joint like this. Julia opened up the sack of Poké Chatot had given them and counted out the coins on the counter while Spinda began to work on their order.

"That's 3600 exactly," Julia said once she was finished. "You gonna bring the drinks out to the table when they're done?"

Spinda danced dizzyingly by the counter to answer, "Yes, that's right! Go right ahead and sit yourself down! Your food and drinks will be delivered shortly!"

Now came the difficult part of finding a place to eat. All the tables were crammed full, with every seat occupied. Well, _nearly_ all the tables. In the other back corner of the room, a single table stood entirely empty, looking almost out-of-place compared to the rest of the café. Exchanging a glance, Flame and Julia headed over and sat themselves down at it with their backs to the room.

"That's really lucky, isn't it?" Flame commented. "What are the odds of finding a free table during rush hour?"

Julia put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her paws. "Actually, I'd say the odds are pretty damn high."

Flame's throat knotted up. "You don't mean…?"

"You've noticed it too, right? The two of us didn't come to this café alone."

Flame nervously cast her gaze around the room, but she couldn't spot anyone out of the ordinary. "It's still so hard to believe, but I know you're right." She shivered and hugged herself. "I don't like this feeling. It feels weird."

"You're telling me."

The matter-of-fact way Julia was talking gave Flame chills. This was all starting to overwhelm her a little and she felt dizzy, though that could have also been from her hunger.

"So," Flame began. "What do we know about this...this...weirdness?"

Closing her eyes, Julia began, "It's safe to say our memories can't be trusted. We're remembering things differently, and losing entire chunks of time. Somehow, our minds have been warped and it's affecting the way we think."

"That sounds so...dramatic," Flame said honestly. "But this has only been happening since yesterday, right?"

Julia shook her head. "I first experienced this way back on the guild's first expedition. You remember that gem you picked up in Foggy Forest?"

"The one that you ended up putting in the Groudon statue?"

"Yeah, that one." Julia scratched idly at the surface of the table with a claw. "I picked that same gem up when I entered the woods."

Flame frowned and said slowly, "That can't be, if I entered before you, you shouldn't have…"

"You found it right near the entrance, just off the path, right?" Julia asked. Flame stared at her.

"How did you - ?"

Smirking, Julia replied, "Yeah, that's where I found it, too. Picked it up, heard a - well, _that_ part can come later - and put it away in my bag only to later find out it was in yours."

"But…" Flame was flabbergasted, unable to quite believe what Julia was telling her.

"But you remember picking it up, too, don't you? Both our accounts can't be true at the same time."

Unable to answer, Flame just nodded. Julia made an amused 'tsk' noise. "There ya go. Now you see? It's been happening all along. Yesterday was just when it got so bad I couldn't ignore it anymore. When I was riding on Fluffy's back, we had a long conversation about it." She sighed. "Only for her to forget everything right after."

"Wait a minute." Flame gave Julia an odd look. "You were riding on Sir Majestic Tail with me, though, weren't you?"

"That's how it ended up, yeah," Julia replied, "but think about it. There were two of us and two of them, right? Why would we _both_ ride on Sir Majestic Tail?"

Flame was silent for a moment as she connected the dots. "...Because it wasn't just the four of us."

As Julia smiled and nodded, Spinda tottered over to their table carrying a tray full of drinks and pastries. "Here are your orders!" he announced, distributing the food and drinks between the two of them. Flame cast a glance back at the rest of the café and noticed most other patrons didn't appear to have their orders yet.

"That was fast," she commented with a frown.

"That's what you get when you pay extra to expedite them!" Spinda replied cheerily. "Please enjoy, you four! And come in again soon!" Tucking his now-empty tray under his arm, he spun and staggered his way back towards his juice bar.

It had happened again. And, Flame realized with a start, it was going to keep happening.

"Why?" she asked, almost desperately. "Why aren't they here? Why can't we remember them?"

Julia took a sip from her drink, gazing passively across the table at nothing. "Who the hell knows, Flame. But you're getting a clearer picture of this now, right?"

Flame stared down at her own food without touching it yet. "There's two of them, right? Two pokémon - guild members - who're supposed to be here right now." Her mind was racing, searching for some kind of explanation for this. "It - it must be Uxie, right? They wiped all our memories of these pokémon for some reason, and - "

"It's not Uxie," Julia interrupted. "Remember? These abnormalities were already happening before we even reached Fogbound Lake. Besides, I still have memory loss of all my time before I became a pokémon, and I can tell you this is nothing like that. It's more like...like they're in our blind spots. Or maybe they've, y'know, like..." She waved a paw in the air, trying to articulate her thoughts. "...maybe they've been removed from existence."

"Geez, Julia, don't you think that sounds a little dramatic?" Flame asked, half-amused and half-disturbed. She watched Julia tuck into her reddish loaf thing and was reminded that she should eat breakfast, too, but her mouth felt too dry to accept food. Instead, she took a small sip of her smoothie. She winced. It wasn't as good as she'd hoped it would be.

"But whatever this is…" Flame sounded strained. "What are we going to do about this? Whoever they are, we should be trying to figure out how to bring them back, right?"

Julia swallowed a bite before responding, "You'd think so, yeah? But what if there's a reason we've all collectively forgotten them? Who knows, maybe they're dangerous."

"But if they really are our guildmates, they might've been our friends!" Flame protested. "I mean, even if they _are _dangerous, nobody deserves to be wiped from our memories like this! We should at least be allowed to remember them!"

Julia looked contemplative. "Y'know, I think - "

Suddenly, she cut herself off and her eyes widened. Before Flame could ask what was wrong, she caught a whiff of the same stench Julia surely must have noticed wafting in.

"That's Team Skull!" Flame whispered, feeling a rush of panic. "What are they doing here?!"

Julia drew her bandana up slightly, as if instinctively trying to conceal herself in it, and Flame risked a glance back at the entrance of the café. Sure enough, three familiar purple figures had appeared at the base of the stairs and were now looking around the establishment.

"Damn, you've gotta be kidding me..." Julia groaned under her breath.

As Flame watched, Team Skull approached a table a good distance away from them. A group of pokémon were already sitting at that table, but after Skuntank exchanged some inaudible words with them, the group quickly vacated their seats and dashed out of the café in a panic. Faintly, Flame could hear the trio laughing as they seated themselves around the recently-freed table. The other patrons of the café, many of whom were also watching Team Skull, looked disgusted and their discussions all seemed to turn to complaints about the stench.

"Looks like they haven't noticed us, Julia," Flame said, turning back to her companions. Julia's ears were pinned against her head and her gaze was fixed straight ahead.

"Of all the times for them to show up..." she was muttering.

"What do you think they could want?" asked Flame, hoping to break Julia out of her trance.

The pikachu shook her head. "No clue."

"Then we should ask!"

The voice belonged neither to Flame nor to Julia, and it had distinctly come from the other, unoccupied side of their table. Both pokémon froze up and stared at each other in alarm.

"Who - ?!"

Julia hopped off her seat and looked around wildly, searching for the source of the voice. "Well, whoever it is," she said, sounding panicked, "I think they're going to go after Team Skull." She spent another moment frozen in place, her yellow fur standing on end, then dashed off through the crowd towards Team Skull's table.

"Hey, wait up!" Flame yelped, and quickly followed Julia's forked tail through the crowd. She emerged from the throng of patrons to see

"Get the HELL off this table if you don't want to be ripped from limb-to-limb!" Skuntank was snarling, her eyes vicious.

All of Skuntank's fur was standing on end, making her look like a huge, fluffy purple cloud. "You messin' with us, punk?! If you're not feelin' _reeeeeal_ lucky, I'd suggest you fuck right off and never show your face around here again, you hear me?!"

Julia stood just to the side of the table, staring up at Skuntank with an unreadable expression, and Flame was a little ways behind her. The members of Team Skull didn't appear to have noticed either of them yet.

"You think just because you beat us once, you can get away with mocking us?!" Skuntank's tail was raised dangerously and Flame took a fearful step back, almost tramping on "Well, you got another thing coming! I'm not afraid to fuck you up so bad they won't even be able to tell what you used to be!"

"Whoa, boss," Koffing said, floating in front of her with a nervous look on his face, "maybe this ain't the best place to throw down! If ya lose it in here, Officer Magnezone'll be on us before you can say 'life sentence'!"

Skuntank turned her venomous leer on Koffing and struck him with a blow from her paw. He was knocked backwards into the wall, eyes squinted shut in pain, and Zubat immediately fluttered over to his side to hug him protectively with his wings. For a moment, Skuntank's eyes flashed with some unrecognizable emotion, but her voice was still furious as she yelled, "You think I give a shit about that?! I'm gonna teach this little bitch not to dance on Team Skull's table!"

Flame heard softly whimper, "Oh my god," even above the din of the café. She looked around, desperately seeking out the second missing pokémon, but all she could see was the crowd of pokémon that had closed in around the table to watch the confrontation, talking to each other in alarmed tones. Sweat prickled down the back of Flame's neck. This was the breaking point. Everything was so wrong, she felt as if she was going to be sick.

Just as Skuntank lunged at with sharp claws extended, a yellow blur leaped onto the table to grab and wrestle him to the ground. Julia and both hit the floor with a bang and

"The hell - ?!" Skuntank whipped her head around, trying to figure out what just happened, before her gaze landed on the pair on the floor. "You?!"

Julia got off and hopped up onto the table to face Skuntank. Flame could see she was shaking, despite the brave look in her eyes.

"That's enough. Nobody's going to be fighting anybody in here today."

Skuntank stared at Julia, her eyes wide. Then, slowly, her fur fell flat again and her face relaxed somewhat into a scowl. "I don't think you realize what you've just done."

Julia swallowed hard. Then she forced a grin. "If I'm gonna be honest? I don't."

The entire café fell deathly silent as the two stared each other down. Finally, Skuntank chuckled darkly and turned away.

"You meet me later. You know where I'll be." She stalked away towards the stairs, then glanced back to beckon to Koffing and Zubat with her tail. "Get over here, you two slackers. You're coming along with me."

Koffing and Zubat bobbed uncertainly near Julia. The former locked eyes with her for a moment, and some unspoken dialogue seemed to pass between them. Then the two Team Skull lackeys obediently flew after their boss and the three left up the stairs.

For another few seconds, the silence in the room persisted, but the pokémon soon either returned to their tables or crowded towards Julia to ask her eagerly about what had just transpired. The pikachu stood frozen atop the table with her eyes wide and fearful, looking as lost as a child.

"Hey, Julia!" Flame called, trying to make herself heard above the noise of the other pokémon. "What the hell did you just do?!" Too late, she realized she'd just used the wrong name for Julia in public and drawn even more unwanted attention on her. Julia just stared helplessly at Flame for a moment before leaping from the table and sprinting out the exit.

Flame felt hollow. Her vision was unfocussed and it was all she could do to keep herself upright on her paws. They had been so close. She didn't know how she knew, but she could _feel_ it. The veil of reality had almost been wrenched off in that moment, but they hadn't gone far enough, hadn't pushed enough. The truth had almost been in their grasp, but at last second, it had slipped away.

Wearily, feeling as if she was dragging the weight of the entire world behind her, Flame returned to her table at the far side of the room and sat down in front of her plate. No matter how appealing her Pecha Puff looked, she couldn't find the will to pick it up. Sighing heavily, she dropped her head against the table and gazed across its surface. Focussing on the grooves and intents in the wood was the extent of what she could bring herself to do.

Then she squinted a little harder at the indents. This was a brand-new establishment. It hadn't even been built when Flame had first joined the guild. Was there really damage to the furniture already?

Somewhat curious, she got up and circled around to the other side of the table to get a better look at what she'd seen. Sure enough, there were markings etched into the surface of the table, probably scraped out by a claw. It took her a moment to realize it was writing; the footprint script was so messy that it made Spinda's handwriting look impeccable. Flame studied the runes, trying to make out what it said. Then her brow furrowed.

"'Lucky and Perry were here'?"

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**I don't know what he's trying to do here or what he hopes to accomplish, but I'm not going to let this set me back. This story's going to continue on the same track and I'm going to see it to completion, no matter what happens. Shoutout to Multikirby for the support and for trusting in me! Not that I don't appreciate every review I get, but...I feel like some of you are making fun of my mistakes. I'm just trying my best here.**


	16. Chapter 16: Julia

**Hoo-kay, before we begin, I just want to give another quick apology for the way I worded the outro in the last chapter. I really do appreciate all your reviews! It was just meant to gently poke fun at you guys. Yeah, I know what I'm writing. Writers don't make mistakes - well, they _do_, but not on a scale like this. Rest assured, this is all going exactly as I intended!  
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**So, as usual, please enjoy and drop a review if you liked it or disliked it or if you just want to pretend like you're making editing mistakes! I promise I won't get offended!**

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Leaves slapped Julia's face as she ran blindly through the woods. A part of her was chastising her for running on all fours like some kind of uncivilized wild pokémon instead of just on her hind legs, but the rest of her didn't care. She just had to put as much distance between herself and Spinda's Café as possible.

When her legs began to feel tired, she stopped and leaned against a tree to catch her breath. Above her, morning light peeked out from between the verdant ceiling of leaves, and the sound of chirping bird pokémon filled the air. Julia sighed and sat down on the grass, leaning back against the trunk of the tree.

She didn't want to have to think about what had just happened, but she knew she had to, even if it would drive her to madness. And honestly, she was half-convinced she'd already gone past the point of sanity.

Drawing her haunches in towards her chest and resting her head atop them, she took a moment to reflect on her situation. All of this was so stupid. If she hadn't been turned into a pokémon and thrust into this world where nothing made sense, she wouldn't have to deal with this shit. She wouldn't have to confront the reality that two entire people had somehow been completely removed from the memory of herself and everyone around her.

"Fuuuuuuuuck," she said aloud, though the word was muffled by her fur. It felt good, so she said fuck again, then she said it again a few more times.

Time passed. Eventually, Julia got sick of sitting against a tree and doing nothing of any value. Huffing a sigh, she rose to her paws and looked around herself. She'd just run out into the woods that bordered the path leading out of town, so she was sure she'd be able to find her way back, but she didn't know if she was ready to return to reality yet.

No, enough of that kind of thought. Julia slapped her own cheek to try to snap herself out of it. For now, she could set aside the issue of the forgotten pokémon and focus on the present. Skuntank was waiting for her, and Julia knew where she'd likely be. The only question was how much later Skuntank had meant, but it didn't really matter. There was no sense in delaying the inevitable.

She set off in what she estimated was the approximate direction of the Team Skull base, idly tangling her claw-tips in the holes of her bandana as she walked. The violet garment still retained the scent of her former team, and though she knew she really shouldn't be wearing it anymore, she didn't want to get rid of it. Team Skull was a team of dumbasses led by a supreme bitch, but Julia felt residual fondness towards all of them despite that. In fact, she was just as eager as she was apprehensive to meet with them properly again.

Her feet eventually led her to the mouth of the familiar cave that she'd called home up until very recently. Skuntank's aroma wafted thickly from the entrance, and Julia had to take a moment to steel herself. No matter how she felt about this encounter, she had to remember that she was walking directly towards danger. It wouldn't surprise her if Skuntank tried to tear her to shreds the second she set foot inside the cave.

An uneasy feeling swept over Julia and she suddenly got the sense she was being watched. She looked around but saw nothing. Gritting her teeth, she tried to push the feeling to the back of her mind as she walked into the cave.

Julia stumbled a bit on her way down the boulder staircase and she barely caught herself from falling over when she reached the bottom. It was dark and the air was heavy with the scent of poison. She took slow, steady breaths, trying to adjust to her surroundings. Too soon, the sound of footsteps approached her.

"Well, well, lookie who showed up early."

The sickly-sweet voice was dripping malice, but Julia stood firm with her eyes fixed on the lumbering form that drew near.

"Skuntank," Julia greeted.

Skuntank stopped barely a yard in front of Julia. From this proximity, the smell of her fumes was nearly overpowering. On either side of Skuntank hovered Zubat and Koffing. Even in the gloom of the cave, Julia could tell they looked less excited to see her and more fearful. _Much_ more fearful.

"I have to say," Skuntank began, sneering, "I'm impressed you didn't drag five of your little friends along this time."

Julia nearly flinched at those words. So Skuntank was aware of the other two. Was this the end of the world pretending they didn't exist?

"I don't need backup for a friendly conversation," Julia responded carefully. "This is between us and us alone."

Skuntank stood taller above Julia to look down on her. "I hope you didn't expect me to waste my time chatting with you, _Pikachu_. If the only reason you're not pissing yourself in fear right now is because you've deluded yourself into thinking I'm not about to beat the shit out of you, you're gonna make me a very disappointed skuntank."

Julia forced herself to remain placid. "Yeah, you don't need to worry about that. I know why you wanted me to come here." Privately, she sincerely hoped it wouldn't actually come to that. She'd much prefer to smooth things out between them without any bloodshed.

Skuntank threw back her head and laughed, a deep chortle that reverberated through Julia's bones. "That's what I like to hear! See, if you weren't a lousy traitor, I'd say my boys could learn a thing or two about growin' a backbone from you!" She clapped a paw down on Julia's shoulder with enough force to nearly make her buckle at the knees. "Yer a damn fool, but you're no coward. I gotta give you at least a bit of credit for that."

"B-boss," Zubat stammered, flying in a little closer but keeping a safe distance, "ya sure ya really wanna do this? You said it, 'e could be a real help to us, couldn' 'e?"

Skuntank's smirk melted off her face to be replaced with a scowl. "Piss off, I'm not forgivin' this bitch _that_ easy." She turned back to Julia and used a claw to gently lift her chin. "But I'm nothing if not a generous boss. You know that, don't you, darlin'? I'll give you a nice lil' chance to explain yourself before you're a bloody carcass plastered on the wall."

Over Skuntank's shoulder, Julia saw Zubat and Koffing exchange terrified looks. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Julia closed her eyes and tried to think about how to handle this. If this was her only chance to talk with Skuntank, she needed to make it count.

"So. About what just happened at the café." Julia looked directly at Skuntank. "You were clearly being provoked into violence. If I hadn't stepped in when I did, you'd've likely ended up getting into trouble with the law. Is that what you wanted?"

Skuntank narrowed her eyes, and Julia hoped she hadn't picked up on the intentionally vague way that had been worded. If Julia could get her to talk about the incident, maybe she could fill in the gaps that had been left by absence.

"Hmph. D'you really think I'm that gullible, _human_?" Skuntank asked, saying the last word in a mocking tone. "We both know full well you were just protecting that little brat. You wouldn't give a rattata's ass whether I got busted for murder or not."

"That's not true, Skuntank." Praying her own truth wouldn't out her as being clueless about this situation, Julia admitted, "I barely know that guy. I wouldn't knock them out of the way of my enraged ex-boss just for their sake. I _do_ care about you." She looked over to Zubat and Koffing. "All three of you."

Koffing's eyes grew wide and emotional. "Aw man, Pikachu," he began, floating towards her, "you got no clue how much we missed ya! You gotta come back so - "

"Did I _say_ you could talk?!" Skuntank snarled, flashing her claws at him. "Do not _fucking_ undermine me while I'm threatening the enemy, got it?"

Koffing shrank back again, clearly not eager for a repeat of that morning. "Sorry, boss," he mumbled, averting his gaze. Snorting, Skuntank turned her leer on Zubat, who flinched away.

"What about you? Got anything clever you want to add?"

Wordlessly, Zubat shook his head.

"Good." Skuntank refocussed her attention on Julia. "I ain't falling for any a' your bullshit, human, no matter how convincing you think you sound." Her face contorted in a strange mixture of revulsion and trepidation. "I don't know how you could ally yourself with someone like that. I thought you had at least a scrap of dignity in you, but clearly abandoning us for the guild's changed you."

One of Julia's ears pricked up in curiosity. "What's so bad about them?"

"Why do you keep callin' him by neutral pronouns?" Skuntank asked, raising a brow. "You turning into Zubat or something?"

"C'mon, boss," Zubat mumbled, embarrassed, "y'know it's hard t' tell genders apart when ya can't see 'em…"

Ignoring him, Skuntank went on, "You guild people are all the same, all actin' full of yourselves, like you can just get away with mocking anyone below you. Since my boys found you, you shoulda known better than to fall for that shit. Then again…"

Skuntank took a step towards Julia, forcing her to back up in response. "...maybe I shouldn't be all that surprised that one traitor befriended another."

Julia wanted to refute the notion that she agreed with the guild in any way, but something else interested her more. "Are you saying _he's_ a traitor?"

Skuntank chuckled darkly. "You don't got a clue, do ya? How d'you think

Then she went back to scowling. "'Course, it backfired in the end."

"Backfired?" Julia echoed, feeling her pulse speed up. Somehow, she hadn't heard the explanation. Skuntank had surely said more than that, but when Julia tried to recall what had been said, her mind just drew a blank.

Another hole, she realized.

"Fuckin' gods, I'm sick t' hell of you playin' dumb with me!" Skuntank snapped, advancing on Julia again with her fangs bared. "You just can't get enough of it, can you? You're so obsessed with tryna make a fool outta me that you don't know when to stop!"

Julia kept backing up until she felt her tail come in contact with the cave wall behind her. This situation was starting to feel very familiar and she _really_ wasn't enjoying it.

"How much of what comes out of your mouth is lies?" Skuntank continued. "Amnesia, bein' a human, giving a flying fuck about any of us - pah, to hell with it." She raised a paw, showing off her long, tapered claws. "I think this conversation's over."

Before Julia had a chance to react, Koffing quickly flew around and tried to shove himself between the two of them. It at least made Skuntank back up a bit, narrowed eyes fixed on him.

"B-boss, please, you gotta stop this!" he pleaded, his voice cracking. "L-look, y' got to tell her off, didn'tcha? I bet Pikachu ain't gonna be messin' with us no more after this, so you can jus' let her go - "

Skuntank slammed a paw down on him, forcing him to the ground. Her expression was calculated, but there was fury in her eyes. "Why don't you leave the decisions to someone with a brain, hon? After all she's said - " She dug her claws down slightly, making him whimper. " - after all _I've_ said, you still want to side with her over me?"

"N-no," Koffing stammered, "I just - "

Julia had had enough. Pushing off against the wall behind her, she leapt at Skuntank and tackled her with all her might. The unexpected blow was enough to get Skuntank off Koffing and she staggered backwards, blinking in surprise. Julia landed on her other side, fur bristling, and took on a defensive pose. She didn't want to have to get in a fight, but she knew this situation could easily escalate.

"You _hypocrite_," Julia growled.

Skuntank's eyes widened. "ExCUSE me?!"

Behind Skuntank, Zubat was flapping his wings irregularly, whipping his head back and forth from his downed partner to Julia with a torn, fearful expression. Seeing him like this was the motivation Julia needed to continue.

"You heard me. How could you talk about how to treat people like some kind of expert when this is how you treat your own teammates?"

Skuntank arched her back slightly and raised her tail above her head dangerously. "How I treat my boys ain't none of your business, bitch."

"I think it is," Julia replied, "when they're my friends." She knew she was walking a dangerous road, but she had to see this through to its end. "You're acting like the victim when you give your 'boys' the same treatment you would your enemies! They've been wronged by this shitty system, same as you, but instead of helping them in any meaningful way, you're just abusing - "

"How _dare_ you act like you know any better than me?!" Skuntank roared, digging her claws into the ground with such fervor that the rock beneath her paws crumbled. "I've been with these sorry lumps for _years_! I was the one who took care of them when they were too weak to defend themselves! Without me, they'd be nothing!"

"Can't you see how much you're hurting them?!" Julia shot back. "They're afraid of you! Your partners shouldn't fear you!"

Without warning, Skuntank pounced at Julia, aiming for her chest with both forepaws. Julia barely had time to duck to the side, and part of her tail was caught by the attack and smashed against the ground. Pain shot up through her tail to her spine, immobilizing her long enough for Skuntank to slash at her chest. The sharp tang of blood cut through the air.

There was no other choice but to fight back. Pinning her ears back, Julia electrified her body and directed a flurry of bolts at Skuntank. She didn't wait for the bright light to fade before she took off, putting a safe amount of distance between the two of them before coming to a stop.

Zubat flew up next to Julia and squeaked in terror, "Y'can't do this! The boss'll kill ya!"

"You gotta run!" Koffing added from where he bobbed close to the ground. "It ain't worth it!"

Gripping her wound with a paw, Julia watched Skuntank shake off the attack and whirl on her, livid. Clearly, the boss was just as strong as she advertised. Julia narrowed her eyes. She'd taken on Groudon before, and illusory or not, that had been a much tougher foe than Skuntank surely was. It wasn't a certainty that Julia would lose this fight.

But then again, she remembered, she'd been with Flame back then. If it hadn't been for the cyndaquil, there was no way she would've been able to defeat it. Suddenly, Julia felt very weak and exposed. There was no one here who could help her. She was on her own.

And yet there was no way she could run. If she escaped now, Zubat and Koffing would be left behind to face Skuntank's wrath alone.

"It'll be okay," she said to the two of them through gritted teeth. "I'll be okay."

She hoped that was the truth.

Skuntank charged again and Julia dodged to the side while firing another bolt of lightning at her. If Skuntank was affected by the attack, she didn't show it. She raised her tail and suddenly the chamber was filled with thick clouds of noxious gas. Julia dropped to all fours, covering her nose with a paw and squinting her watering eyes shut. Her open wounds erupted in white-hot pain as they came in contact with the poisonous air.

Something bashed her from the side, causing her to topple to the ground. She forced her eyes open just a crack, but all she could see was a dark shadow looming over her, heavily obscured by the yellowy gas. Over the sound of the ringing in her ears, she could faintly hear two panicked voices calling out her name.

There was nothing she could do. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move, she could barely even see. All she could do was watch helplessly as Skuntank's jaws came down on her, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and lifting her battered body off the ground. It was over.

Eyelids heavy, Julia began to feel herself losing consciousness. Vaguely, she was aware of the pain blooming throughout her body and her lungs full of toxins; but though her body was becoming numb, she got the sense that she was being dragged somewhere, her dangling legs and tail bumping into some hard surface.

Then the world turned impossibly bright and Julia whited out.

ooooo

Shapes blurred in and out of focus. Distant voices, too distant to make out, drifted by Julia's ears from time to time. At one point, something pressed against her torso, but she only felt dull pain. Once, she had a strange dream, or maybe a vision, of a face looking down at her with a strange expression - pity, or maybe disgust, but certainly not concern, because somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that face could never produce such an expression - but then it too was gone, and she was falling away into nothing…

"Heyyyyy, Julia, wake up!"

The voice was muted, distant, but much nearer than the others had been. Still, it was too far to reach, and she began to fall again.

"Seriously, now's not the time to be taking a nap! Wake up already!"

Spots swam in front of Julia's eyes until they gradually began to coalesce into colours and vague shapes. She realized her eyes were open and she blinked, trying to see.

"Finally! I thought you'd never wake up!"

The voice was coming from directly above her. She squinted. Against a backdrop of pale blue sky was a dark shape in another shade of blue. A dull pain in her left side registered and she sucked in a breath through her teeth, reaching over to press her paws against it.

"Looks like you got a nasty cut from Skuntank!" the voice informed her. "Ooh, I bet it'll be a cool scar!"

Julia forced herself to sit up and felt sand beneath her paws. As she reoriented herself, she began to hear the sound of waves washing against a shore.

"Ughhhhhh…" she managed, putting a paw against her throbbing head. She felt something sticky where she touched her fur and she quickly looked at both paws in alarm. To her surprise, they were covered in blue liquid.

Oran berry poultice, she realized. But that must have meant…

"Ew, that's super gross! You'd better not touch me with your goopy paws!"

The high-pitched whine of that voice was starting to grate on Julia's nerves. More grating than that, however, was that despite its strange familiarity, Julia couldn't put a name to the voice. She looked up at the speaker and tried to figure out what she was supposed to be seeing. Everything looked so blurry.

"Who...are you?"

The pokémon tilted its head at her. "Wow, you must be really out of it! They musta messed you up real bad in there!"

Julia blinked repeatedly until the pokémon finally came into focus. It appeared to be a small riolu with vivid red eyes and a carefree grin on its face. As expected, she didn't recognize him.

"You smell super bad, by the way," the riolu said cheerfully.

Now that he mentioned it, Julia could smell Skuntank's fumes on her. She wrinkled her nose and shakily got to her feet. As she took in her surroundings, she realized she was on the familiar beach outside of Treasure Town. The sun was high in the cloudless sky above her and the air was pleasantly warm.

"Fuck," Julia groaned, rubbing her head again. "How long was I out?"

"Like, a super-long time, probably," the riolu replied. "It's been years since you got knocked out. The end of the world already happened and everything." He put his paws behind his head, grinning. "It was super cool and you totally missed the whole thing."

Julia opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. Somehow, she got the sense that she wouldn't be able to get a straight answer out of him.

"Did you do this?" she asked, gesturing to the oran berry mulch that was partially dried into her fur. The riolu stuck out his tongue and shook his head.

"No way! I'd never do such a messy job! I'm offended you'd even think that!"

Then...could it have been someone from Team Skull? Julia tried to recall what had happened after Skuntank gassed the cave, but everything after that was too vague and fuzzy to remember.

"Thanks for waking me up, I guess," she said to the riolu. He flashed her another wide smile and crossed his arms.

"No problemo! Waking people up is my specialty, y'know!" He winked at her as if he'd just made a joke. She simply stared back at him.

"...Okay?"

The riolu put on a disappointed expression. "Aw, I guess that one wasn't very funny, was it? Wow, I must be losing my touch!"

What a weird pokémon. He was acting like he had already been acquainted with Julia at some point, but despite the somewhat familiar voice, she knew she'd never spoken with him before.

"Bye, then," she said to him, hoping it'd be enough to send him away. It wasn't.

"Wow, are ya trying to get rid of me, Julia?" the riolu asked. "You know it's not that easy!"

Julia narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know my name."

The riolu blinked, then smirked. "Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself first!" He stuck out a paw. "My name's Lucky! Pleased ta meetcha!"

Uncertainly, Julia reached her paw out to shake, but he yanked his away at last second. "Hey, I toldja not to touch me! Your paws are super nasty! And your fur smells bad! You should take a long bath before you even try to shake my paw!"

Julia squinted at him again. What the hell.

"Don't make that face at me!" Lucky scolded, wagging a finger at her. "Go wash yourself, missy! Then you can rub your gross paws all over me as much as you like!"

Pulling a disgusted expression, Julia turned from him and waded into the ocean water to clean herself off. The salty water caused her wounds to sting, but Julia's brain felt too addled to focus on that. Who the hell _was_ that and why was he insisting on bugging Julia like this?

Julia was almost done scrubbing herself when she heard the sound of someone wading into the water behind her. She turned to face the riolu again, who was eyeing her curiously.

"Don't you have someplace to be?" Julia asked irritably. Lucky put his paws behind his back innocently.

"The only place I'm supposed to be is three steps behind you!" he replied. "Y'know, because I'm following you."

She tried and failed to respond.

"Actually, I've been following you for the past few hours," he added. "Super creepy, I know."

Julia was already at wit's end with this guy. "Why the fuck were you following me?!"

"Wow!" Lucky pointed at her angrily. "No cussing! That's super fucking rude! Anyways, I was following you because Flame begged me to."

One of Julia's ears perked up at the mention of the name and her eyes widened. "You know Flame?"

"Uh, yeah, obvs," Lucky said, waving a paw around. "We're besties, after all! Sorry, Julia, but she ditched you as a bestie and now I'm her number one."

This entire conversation felt entirely backwards. This kid, whoever he was, was acting way too familiar, like he really did already know Julia and Flame. And where the hell did she remember his voice from? The gears in Julia's head were turning and she had the feeling this was all going to make sense very soon, but at the present moment it was absolutely and utterly failing to make any sort of sense whatsoever.

"And she asked you to follow me?" Julia asked slowly. "Why would she do that?"

"Well, _that's_ obviously because she's madly in love with you and didn't want you to get killed by Team Skull!"

Julia's cheeks burned and she glared at Lucky. "Quit messing around! Tell me why you were _really_ following me!"

"Oh no!" Lucky faked a gasp. "The big bad evil Team Skull thug is gonna kill me for being too annoying! Tell my brother he can have all my worldly possessions after I die!"

"Okay, that's it." Julia dove at him and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He was almost twice her height, so she yanked him downwards, forcing him to his knees.

"H-hey!" he yelped in protest, but Julia cut him off before he could say anything more.

"No more bullshit, punk," she growled. "Who the hell are you and why do you know so much about me and Flame?"

Lucky gave a strained laugh. "Wow, Julia, you're being kinda scary right now - "

"Answer me!"

"Okay, okay!" Lucky recoiled from the sharpness of her voice, then, looking innocuous, answered, "I'm a spy working for a rival guild and I've gone undercover to learn the secrets of the Wigglytuff Guild. Now please don't kill me, miss thug!"

Julia stared at him for several long seconds, then flung him down at the water and stalked away back up the beach. Behind her, she could hear Lucky splashing his way out of the water after her, but she ignored him. She didn't care how this punk knew about her, she never wanted to have to talk to him again.

"Hey, Julia, what's wrong with you?" Lucky ran up to her side and matched her pace. He looked genuinely confused. "At first I thought you were playing some kinda weird game, but now you're acting like you don't even know me!"

"I _don't_ know you!" Julia snapped, curling her paws into fists. "Now piss off!"

Lucky was only quiet for a moment before saying, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Then he ran in front of her and stopped to force her to halt. "You got amnesia again and totally forgot about me! That explains it!"

"There's no way I'd forget an annoying brat like you," Julia grumbled. "Out of my way."

"I bet you even forgot about Perry!" Lucky went on, thwarting Julia's attempts to sidestep him. "How could you do that? How could you forget about my little bro, you monster?"

"Fuck off already, kid! Why would I ever - "

And then it clicked.

She _had_ forgotten him. This was him. This had to be him.

Julia grabbed Lucky's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "You go to the guild, right."

Lucky leaned away from her slightly, but he continued to grin. "Yep! We're guildmates! And also best friends forever, me and you! Don't tell Flame, though, or she'll get super sad!"

"And...this 'Perry'? Does he go to the guild, too?"

Lucky's ears drooped. "Wow, you...you really _did_ forget about us, huh? Yeah, Perry's a member of the guild. He's my brother, you know!"

She was right. This was the pokémon who had caused the stir in Spinda's Café. _That_ was why his voice had sounded familiar - that errant voice back there had been his.

These were the two pokémon the world had forgotten. They had to be.

"Thank goodness," Julia sighed, letting her paws drop. "You _are_ real. I'm not crazy."

"It's too early to rule out the crazy part," Lucky said, giving a strained laugh. "Was I not-real for a minute there or something? Wow, that would've been really weird!"

"It was," Julia agreed. "But you're here now, so that means it's okay now. The weirdness is over."

"I still think _you're_ weird."

Was it really allowed to be this easy? Just waking up and finding one of the missing pokémon standing over her? No, she had to be sure.

"Where's Perry?"

Lucky put a finger to his mouth and hummed to himself. "Who knows? He could be anywhere by now! We may never find him!" He broke into a devilish grin. "Orrrrrr I know _exactly_ where he is and I'm just not telling you."

Julia's heart sank. Oh no. Oh, god no.

"Do you know where he is?" she asked sternly. "I need to see him right now."

"Why do you neeeeeeed to see him?" Lucky asked coyly, walking around Julia in a circle. "He's a real busy man, y'know! Not just anyone can see him!"

"I just need to confirm something. It's important, okay? Please, if you know where he might be, you need to tell me."

"He's Wigglytuff."

"Lucky, I mean it."

"Okay, I lied. He's actually Chatot."

Julia had to force her fur to lie flat. She took in a slow breath to calm herself, then tried again.

"Lucky, we're friends, right? We can mess around like this some other time, but right now, I really just need you to be serious with me."

Lucky crossed his arms, looking sullen. "Well, _normally_ I would, because we're best friends and all, but you totally forgot about both me _and_ Perry, and that's super rude! I think if you want to get any info outta me, you're gonna have to apologize."

"...What."

"That's right!" Lucky said, giving a nod. "Say sorry for forgetting us, and then _maybe_ I'll let you be friends with me again!"

Suppressing a groan, Julia muttered, "I'm sorry for forgetting you."

"Hmm...nope!" Lucky recrossed his arms the other way. "You're gonna have to sound more sad and apologetic! Make me believe that you're really sorry!"

"I'm...very, very sorry for forgetting about you."

Lucky turned his head. "Not good enough! It needs more tears! Cry like you mean it!"

Julia didn't have time for this. She shoved Lucky out of the way and stormed up the path towards the crossroads. Out of all the guild members that could've been wiped from her memory, it _had_ to include the worst possible one. Maybe _this_ was why everyone had collectively forgotten him. Maybe it was for the better. At this point, she didn't even want to meet Perry. If he was even half as bad as his brother, that was a nightmare she never wanted to face.

"Wow, do you hate me now?" Lucky called as he trotted along behind Julia. When he didn't receive an answer, he went on, "That's good! That just means I get to make friends with you all over again! Wow, this is gonna be so much fun! Are you excited, Julia? I'm excited!"

Julia was about to turn around to let him know exactly what she thought of that idea when Lucky suddenly barrelled past, knocking into her with his bulky, oversized treasure bag.

"See you later, future bestie!" he called as he ran up the path.

"You fucking - !"

Julia's vision began to fade in and out and a wave of dizziness came over her. Was she about to pass out again?

A line of white cut through her vision and she was suddenly transported to a completely different location. Before her, in dark monochromes, was a vast expanse of desolate wasteland littered with dead trees and shrivelled bushes. The sky was black and overcast, but the clouds saw no movement and no rain fell. There was no sign of life here whatsoever. Everything was still and dead.

Then Julia blinked and she was back to reality, standing on the familiar path through the woods. Lucky was nowhere in sight. Shaking, Julia pressed a paw against her head. What the hell was _that_? It felt similar to the times she'd gotten visions before, like when she'd touched the Drought Stone and the Groudon statue in Foggy Forest, and when she'd picked up the ransom note from Team Skull. But this was unlike anything else she'd ever seen in a vision. The experience left her feeling cold and uncomfortable.

She wrapped her arms around herself, suppressing shivers. Why would she see something like that? Did Lucky trigger that vision somehow?

Suddenly, she regained interest in the riolu. What if these visions she'd been having were connected to Lucky and this so-called Perry somehow? It was a long shot, but if the holes in this world had been caused by their absence, maybe her visions had something to do with them, too. Even if Lucky didn't seem to know why she'd lost her memories of him, maybe talking with him would shed some light on the situation.

Whether or not Julia would be able to get any useful information out of him, however, was a completely different story. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Julia continued up the path to look for Lucky

* * *

**And that's that for now, at least until next week! What wacky hijinks will Sir Majestic Tail get into this time? You'll just have to wait for the next chapter to find out!**

**(But seriously. Stop acting like you think I don't know what I'm doing. Multikirby, that means you, too. Please, I need you on my side.)**


	17. Chapter 1 6: Pikachu

**Okay, I guess we're doing this instead. Cool. This is fine.**

* * *

Shapes blurred in and out of focus. Distant voices, too distant to make out, drifted by Julia's ears from time to time. At one point, something pressed against her torso, but she only felt dull pain. Once, she had a strange dream, or maybe a vision, of a face looking down at her with a strange expression - pity, or maybe disgust, but certainly not concern, because somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that face could never produce such an expression - but then it too was gone, and she was falling away into nothing…

"Heyyyyy, Julia, wake up!"

The voice was muted, distant, but much nearer than the others had been. Still, it was too far to reach, and she began to fall again.

"Seriously, now's not the time to be taking a nap! Wake up already!"

Spots swam in front of Julia's eyes until they gradually began to coalesce into colours and vague shapes. She realized her eyes were open and she blinked, trying to see.

"Finally! I thought you'd never wake up!"

That voice…

"Looks like you got a nasty cut from Skuntank! Ooh, I bet it'll be a cool scar!"

It couldn't be.

Julia sat up suddenly, ignoring the bite of pain in her left side. The pokémon who had been leaning over her hopped back to give her space.

"Wow, easy there!" he warned, red eyes flashing with concern. "You don't wanna open up your cuts again and bleed out, do ya?"

Julia narrowed her eyes to focus on the pokémon and found, to her horror, that it was indeed a riolu. There was no way this was happening right now.

"...Lucky?" she guessed. The riolu bobbed his head, grinning.

"The one and only!"

This wasn't supposed to be happening. He was back, wasn't he? Everything should have been back to normal, and yet here Julia was, waking up on the beach again.

Of course it couldn't be that easy. She must have messed up somehow, done something wrong, to make this event repeat. Or maybe it just wasn't over yet.

Julia let out a low groan, rubbing at her head. Somehow, her headache felt worse this time around. Unsteadily getting to her feet, she looked back at Lucky, trying to think of how to handle this situation.

"Why are you here?" she settled on asking.

Putting on a sly smile, Lucky leaned in and lowered his voice to reply, "Don't tell Perry or Flame, but I snuck out to follow you. Not that I think you're weak or anything, I just wanted to make sure Skuntank didn't kill you _too_ good. 'Cuz wow, it'd totally suck if you died!"

That was...surprisingly straightforward. "I could've handled myself," Julia said dismissively. "I know how to deal with Skuntank."

Lucky raised an eyebrow at her berry-smeared wound. "Clearly." Then he covered his nose with a paw. "You smell super bad, though! You gotta wash up before you go anywhere or else nobody's gonna wanna be your friend anymore!"

Oh, right, the smell. Julia lightly touched her injury to make sure she hadn't reopened it with her earlier sudden movement, then waded into the shallows of the ocean to clean herself off. Her mind was racing, but she forced herself to stay calm. Acting natural was making this conversation go much more smoothly than last time. With any luck, if she kept this up, she could actually get some information out of him this time.

Right on cue, Lucky joined her in the water just as she was getting the last bits of pulp off her fur. He wasn't wearing the same expression of curiosity this time, however; instead, he looked...apologetic.

"Hey, Julia?" he began, sounding almost reluctant. "Sorry about...y'know."

Julia froze in panic, mind scrambling to figure out what he could be referring to. Then she remembered the café incident and she carefully asked, "...You mean, what happened at Spinda's?"

To her relief, he nodded. "I shouldna riled them up like that. I thought it'd be kinda fun to make fun of them, but I ended up getting you in trouble." He gave a light laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "Perry was suuuuuuper mad at me! He thought I was gonna die!"

Was this really the same riolu? He sounded nothing like he had last time. Julia simply shrugged at him, wringing out her bandana.

"Uh...don't worry about it, kid. It was about high time I faced Team Skull again, anyways."

"You were super cool back there, you know that?" Lucky's eyes glimmered. "All pushing me out of the way of danger and that? Of course, I had the situation totally under control, but it was a nice thing to do, anyways. Maybe you're _not_ such an evil bad guy, after all!"

Julia offered him an uncertain half-smile. "Well, whatever. I wouldn't want you getting hurt, would I?"

Lucky brought a paw to his mouth to gasp. "Oh no! Julia, I think you might be turning into a _good guy_! How could something this awful happen?! Quick, slap me before it's too late!"

Somehow, that managed to get a chuckle out of Julia. She swatted the surface of the water with her tail to splash Lucky with water droplets only to experience a shooting pain up her tail, a painful reminder that it had been injured in the battle. If Lucky noticed her discomfort, he didn't show it as he giggled and splashed Julia in retaliation. A splash-fight quickly started up and Julia found herself earnestly having a bit of fun.

The situation felt surreal. In some other timeline, they'd gotten into a downward-spiralling battle of wits and lies, but now they were laughing and playing with each other like a pair of kids - or, presumably, one kid and a teenager. It was suddenly much easier to believe they really _had_ been good friends, or would have been if Lucky and Perry hadn't not-existed for a while there.

That thought brought Julia out of the fight and she began to wade back towards the shore. Lucky was close behind, still kicking water up at her back until they were back on the beach. Both shook themselves off, spraying droplets everywhere.

"So," Julia began, "where are Flame and Perry now? Still at the café?"

Lucky shrugged as he rubbed at his ears to get the water out of them. "Beats me! I ran off right after you did and haven't gone back to check on them yet. They could be anywhere by now!"

The simple answer was like music to Julia's ears. She let out a relieved sigh, then suggested, "Then why don't we go look for them? We could all go on a job or two together."

Lucky cocked his head to the side, looking confused. "No, we can't. Remember? Me n' Perry are still in trouble for breaking into the guild the night we joined. We're still stuck doing boring ol' errands."

Shit. Julia tried not to look guilty as her mind worked to come up with an excuse for herself. Then she remembered something and she gave him a suspicious look.

"Hang on, you came with us to Amp Plains yesterday, didn't you?" It was as much a genuine question as it was an accusation. Fortunately, her guess was right and Lucky snickered.

"Okay, you got me. Guess there's no fooling you, huh, Julia? Oh, but we can bust down the grate again, just for funsies!" Lucky added. "I know ya wannaaaaaaa!"

Clearly, Julia was going to need to exercise caution if she wanted to keep up the lie that she remembered him. She wondered how Flame was handling all of this. The poor thing was probably just as lost as Julia was, maybe more. But as much as Julia wanted to find her as soon as possible and talk to her privately about what was happening, she knew she needed to play it cool. Besides, there was no telling whether the afternoon would reset itself again and force Julia to relive this encounter.

"I'll save destroying the grate for when I want to go back to being a bad guy," Julia said, starting down the beach towards the road. "For now, let's go see if those two are around. If not, we should take a job request."

"Actually," Lucky began, trotting along after her, "I've got a way better idea. Why don't we ask Dusknoir about your visions?"

Julia halted in her tracks and stared at him, narrowing her eyes in confusion. "What?"

"Oh, you know!" Lucky held his paws behind his back and rocked back and forth on his heels. "Remember how you were telling Flame alllllll about the weird visions you keep getting and how I totally eavesdropped on you guys? I think you should ask the Great and Powerful Dusknoir about it! Maybe he'll know something about them!"

Was that what Julia had been talking about at the café in some reality where Lucky and Perry hadn't been forgotten? She supposed that made sense - if they were both around, there should be no reason for the inconsistencies to be happening. She'd been so focussed on solving this mystery that she'd almost forgotten about the visions she'd been experiencing.

The memory of her most recent vision came back to her and she shut her eyes tightly, trying to force it back out of her mind. That desolate landscape painted in grey, the overpowering feeling of death surrounding her…

Shuddering, Julia opened her eyes and nodded sternly. "Yeah, let's ask him. If anyone knows anything about this, it's probably gonna be him."

"Great!" Lucky yipped, looking eager. "Let's go hunt him down!"

With that, he charged down the path, bumping Julia with his treasure bag in the process. She winced and prepared herself for the inevitable repeat of the vision...but nothing happened.

"Hey, what're you standing around for?" Lucky called from further along the road, bouncing in place. "C'mon c'mon c'mon! Hurry it up or I'm leaving you behind!"

"I'm coming!" Julia insisted, jogging after him. She focussed on the ground beneath her paws as she ran, puzzling over why she hadn't experienced the vision again. Could it just be because she already saw it? But she quickly pushed the questions aside. There was no point thinking too deeply on any of this. Hopefully, the Great Dusknoir would have the answers she sought.

Lucky, as it turned out, was frustratingly quick on his paws. It was nearly impossible to keep track of where he was going, let alone keep up with him. Several times, Julia lost him in the crowds of Treasure Town, the only indication of his location being the occasional flash of black and blue amidst a group of pokémon. Eventually, she gave up on chasing him and just walked, focussing on looking for Dusknoir instead.

Before she found him, however, she ran into two other familiar faces first.

"Oh! Miss Pikachu!"

When Julia turned in the direction of the voice, her eyes landed on the beaming faces of Marill and Azurill who both seemed to walk with a skip in their steps as they approached.

"Oh, it's you kids." Julia perked up an ear. "Did Flame return your Water Float to you yet?"

"Yep!" Marill replied with a vigorous nod. "We're really grateful to all of you guys! It made us really happy that so many people wanted to help us get it back!"

A sheepish smile broke over Julia's face. Her _real_ motivation for going to Amp Plains was less about helping the marill brothers and more about confronting Team Skull about the note, but she wasn't about to tell them that.

"It's no problem, really," she said. "Who wouldn't want to help you kids out?" Then she added, "By the way, when you met with Flame, did she say anything about where she was going?"

Azurill shook his head. "Nope, she didn't say anything. She and Mister Spearow were asking about you, though. They wanted to know if we saw you."

"Mister Spearow?" Julia repeated to herself, too quietly for them to hear. That had to be 'Perry', but hadn't Lucky said they were brothers? There was no way a riolu and a spearow could be related. Maybe that claim had been another joke.

At a normal volume, Julia said, "Thanks anyways. You kids take care now, okay?"

"We will!" said Marill. "See you around, Miss Pikachu!"

"Thanks again!" Azurill added, waving.

Returning the wave, Julia set off down the road again, scanning the crowds for any sign of Dusknoir or Lucky. It ended up being her ears that found them instead.

"Then maybe you can sign my forearm! Oh wait, d'you have a pen? I totally forgot to bring one."

Julia followed the sound of Lucky's high-pitched voice until she finally spotted him standing in front of Dusknoir by the kecleon brothers' shop. Dusknoir was looking down at him with a humouring expression as Lucky hopped from foot to foot like an overexcited child. When Dusknoir spotted Julia, he waved her over.

"Good to see you two again," he said as Julia approached. "I'm glad the six of you managed to make it home safely."

It took Julia a moment to realize that Dusknoir was including Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy in that 'six'. She'd have to learn not to falter every time someone said a number.

"We owe you for the save," she said to Dusknoir. "We might not have been quite as lucky if not for you."

Lucky turned back to her, putting his paws on his hips. "Wow, I toooootally would've been Lucky, even without him!"

Dusknoir chuckled and leaned down to pat him on the head. "I'm certain you would have been." The action made Lucky shudder and recoil as if Dusknoir's hand was made of ice.

"A-anyways," Lucky started, shaking himself off, "we've got a super important question for you! Since you're, like, the smartest pokémon ever and all!"

"I wouldn't say _smartest_," Dusknoir said modestly, "but please feel free to ask. I will answer to the best of my ability."

Lucky hopped over to Julia's side and grandly gestured to her with his arms. "My good friend here has a super weird, super cool power! Apparently, when she touches things, she's totally plagued with horrible visions!"

"It's not like that!" Julia insisted, trying to shoo him away. "I don't even know if it's _touching_ things that activates it, but…" She shook her head. "I'll explain this properly. A few times, I've experienced visions - or heard a voice - after coming in contact with...certain objects. I know one time, the vision was of the past, but the other times...I couldn't tell."

Dusknoir looked contemplative, folding his arms and eyeing her with interest. "If I may ask, which objects triggered these visions? And what were the circumstances surrounding them?"

Julia frowned. Even if she wanted to give Dusknoir as much information about this as possible, two of the visions had occurred on the expedition she was forbidden from talking about, and the one with Lucky she wasn't entirely sure had even happened.

"Sorry, I can't go too much into detail," she said. "But one of the instances was yesterday, when I picked up the ransom note of that Water Float." She winced before continuing, "That's how I knew Team Skull - y'know, Skuntank and them - were somehow behind the whole thing. I got a vision of her writing out the note."

Dusknoir nodded, holding a finger to his chin. "It's not much information, but it _is_ enough to make an educated guess. Tell me, do you experience a dizzy spell right before each vision?"

Surprised, Julia nodded.

"Then you most likely have an ability called the Dimensional Scream."

"Wowwwww, that sounds so cool and badass!" Lucky piped up, looking amazed. "Hey, Julia, you just got a thousand times cooler!"

"Geez, don't interrupt him," Julia scolded. "How does that ability work, Dusknoir?"

But Dusknoir's focus seemed to have shifted. Now he was looking at Julia in blatant confusion. "Excuse me, but what did that riolu call you?"

Julia cringed. She supposed Lucky _was_ the type to go blurting her name in public. "Julia. It's kind of a weird name, I know."

Dusknoir's eye made tiny movements in its socket as the ghost pokémon scrutinized Julia all over. "No, that can't be…" he murmured.

"What is it?" Julia asked, almost nervous to learn what he was thinking.

After a moment, Dusknoir seemed to break from his trance and he shook his head. "No, this won't do. Would you mind terribly much if we moved to discuss this in a more private location?"

Julia exchanged a glance with Lucky, who looked indignant. "Wow, are you two gonna abandon me?! No way! I'm totally coming with you to hear your super-private conversation!"

Dusknoir paused for a moment, considering, then nodded. "Very well, you may come along. You are...Julia's friend, are you not?"

Lucky flung an arm around Julia's shoulder. "Totally! We're besties for life!"

"Then follow me, if you will." Dusknoir began to float down the road in the direction of the crossroads. "The beach should be a sufficiently secluded location."

"Wow," Lucky whispered in Julia's ear, "he sure does like to use a lotta big words, doesn't he? He's so fancy!"

Julia shrugged off his arm and walked after Dusknoir. Lucky trotted beside her, tail held high. The three soon arrived back at the beach, which was still as unoccupied as Julia and Lucky had left it. Dusknoir remained quiet for a while longer, deep in thought. His serious expression unnerved Julia somewhat.

"So," he began, finally breaking the silence, "you say your name is Julia?"

Julia nodded slowly.

"Where did you get such a name?"

How was Julia supposed to answer this question? If she told the truth, both Dusknoir _and_ Lucky would learn that she was a human, and she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable with either of them knowing. _Especially_ Lucky. She didn't know him well enough to know how he'd handle the information.

"I guess...my parents gave it to me?" Julia tried. Dusknoir's expression didn't change.

"I see. And have you been experiencing Dimensional Screams your whole life, or only just recently?"

Julia shrank down into her fur. "Uh...recently."

"Hmm."

Lucky was watching the exchange with a bored look on his face. "Maaaaaan, you guys are both acting so stingy! You - " He pointed at Dusknoir. " - should ask better questions! And you - " He turned his accusing finger on Julia. " - should just tell him the truth already!"

"The - the truth?"

Lucky looked at her encouragingly. "You know, what you told me? About your memories and who you used to be?"

Oh, god no. There was no _way_ Julia had actually told Lucky about that. No matter how well some version of her might have known him, there was no way she'd ever tell him the whole truth about her past, was there? But now Dusknoir was staring at Julia expectantly and she got the feeling she didn't have much of a choice.

"Alright, uh." She took in a deep breath to ready herself. "This might be kinda hard to believe, but I'm not really a pikachu. At least, I didn't used to be." She gestured to the beach. "A few weeks ago, I just...woke up here with no memory of my past. All I could remember was my name and the fact that I used to be a human."

Dusknoir jolted back in shock, his eye going wide. "A human, you say?! But that's…"

"I know," Lucky cut in, "super hard to believe, right? I didn't believe her at first, either! But a human amnesiac is wayyyyyy cooler than just some random pokémon who lost their memory, right? So I _had_ to believe her!"

Julia pinned her ears back, wishing she could disappear. Dusknoir probably thought she was absolutely out of her mind at this point. Why did Lucky have to ruin everything?

After a while, Dusknoir composed himself and gave Julia another once-over. "So, your name is Julia, and you say you used to be a human?"

"Yeah, but…" Julia shrugged, giving a strained smile. "...I really don't remember anything more than that. Sorry."

"No, that's quite alright," Dusknoir said, shaking his head. A strange look came to his eye - curiosity, or perhaps eagerness? - but it was quickly gone. "I wish I could help you make sense of your situation. But as I've said, I don't know everything. I haven't the faintest idea why you're now a pokémon, or what has caused you to lose your memory."

Julia sighed. At least he didn't seem to think she was crazy. "It's fine. At least you were able to explain the whole Dimensional Scream thing."

"I'm glad I was able to provide at least that answer."

"Ewwwwww."

Lucky, who had once again tuned out of the conversation, was now staring up at the sky with a disgusted look on his face.

"Why 'ew'?" Julia asked, then followed his gaze. Above them circled a whole flock of pelippers, more than Julia had ever seen in one place. She recalled that they typically delivered mail to pokémon, but there usually were never more than one or two in the sky at once.

"Strange," Dusknoir commented as he watched the pelippers. "This is a much greater number of them than normal, is it not?"

"I hate pelippers," Lucky said, sticking out his tongue. Julia gave him an amused half-smirk.

"Isn't that a little species-ist?" she asked. "What do you have against 'em, anyways?"

Lucky looked back at her, blinking as if he hadn't expected her to ask that. "Well, isn't it obvious? They're super gross and smelly! And they get all your mail wet, and I bet they're total killjoys at bonfire parties! They should alllllllll get fired for being annoying killjoys!"

"That's..." Julia began doubtfully, but trailed off when she heard the sound of rapidly beating wings coming down the beach.

"Lucky! Julia!" chirped a tiny spearow, barrelling towards them. "God, I thought I'd never find you guys!"

"Hey, bro!" Lucky greeted brightly, holding out an arm to the spearow. "Fancy meeting you here!" The bird pokémon alighted on his arm but continued flapping, as if trying to drag Lucky away.

"There's big news at the guild!" the spearow said hurriedly. "Chatot wants everyone to meet there immediately!"

"Chill out for a sec, Spearow!" Lucky plopped his free paw down on the spearow's back, forcing him to still his wings. "We'll be over there in a sec, okay? Oh, can we bring Dusknoir?"

"I don't care! Just come now!"

Julia frowned at the spearow. This was undoubtedly Perry, but why wasn't Lucky calling him by his name? This riolu was a total enigma.

She didn't have much time to think about it, however, as Lucky sprinted off towards the guild, waving a paw towards Julia and Dusknoir. "C'mon, guys! To the guild!"

Not to be left behind, Julia quickly headed after him again. Privately, she hoped running after Lucky wouldn't be a trend. She had to dash on all fours just to keep up with his speedy ass.

When Julia had ascended the stairs and reached the guild's entrance, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. Lucky and the spearow must have already gone in, because they were nowhere to be seen and the guild's gate was already open.

"Shall we enter?" Dusknoir asked from right behind Julia, making her jump.

"Y-yeah," she said, putting a paw over her chest. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

Dusknoir gave a low chuckle. "My apologies, Julia. I'll try not to send you to an early grave next time."

Were _all_ ghost-types that ominous? Shaking herself out, Julia entered the tent and climbed down the ladder. About halfway down, she began to hear a multitude of frenzied voices all talking over each other. It sounded like there were more pokémon in there than usual.

Once she reached the bottom, that hunch was confirmed. All the members of the guild, as well as several exploration teams, were crowded around the outlaw notice board, chatting excitedly with each other. Julia scanned the crowd for Lucky or Flame, but couldn't see them among the throng. However, she did notice a familiar flaming tail poking out near the back of the group.

What the hell, she decided and headed over. As she drew near, she began to pick up on the conversation the pokémon was having with someone.

"Cease this talk at once!" Sir Majestic Tail was yelling, his flames sputtering in agitation. "Goodness gracious, what will others think of you if you discuss such a thing so openly and at such a volume in here?!"

"Cool it, Fire-Butt," another familiar voice grumbled, "I was just making a guess."

"It's an atrocious guess!"

"Hey," said Julia as she approached. Sir Majestic Tail turned his head to look at her and his flustered expression was instantly replaced with his default uppity look.

"Good afternoon, Julia," the ponyta greeted with a dip of his head. The blue-and-cream face of Fluffy poked out from around his flank and she shot Julia a grin.

"Hey, it's you again!" Fluffy roughly shoved Sir Majestic Tail aside to face Julia. "You know about criminals, right? Who's the outlaw everyone's losing their minds about?"

"Rude!" snapped Sir Majestic Tail. "You should never ask such a question even to those who associate themselves with shady figures!" Then he looked at Julia with a poorly-concealed expression of curiosity. "Of course, if you _were_ to know, somehow…"

Julia gave a half-shrug. "Dunno. I just got here."

"I betcha anything it's a serial killer!" Fluffy bleated excitedly. "The metal police finally discovered their identity and now everyone wants revenge for the murders!"

Sir Majestic Tail shot Fluffy a dirty look and stamped a hoof angrily. "What did I just tell you?! Do _not_ discuss these sorts of matters out here!"

As much as Julia didn't want to side with Sir Majestic Tail over Fluffy, she could admit she wasn't much of a fan of the glares and raised-eyebrows the other pokémon in the room were sending in their direction. "It's probably not anything as serious as that," she told Fluffy. "Besides, we'd've heard about it if there was someone that dangerous around."

"I'd be inclined to agree," said Dusknoir from right behind Julia, startling her again.

"Dusknoir, sir!" exclaimed Sir Majestic Tail. "What a pleasure to see you again!"

"Likewise." Dusknoir folded his arms and gazed in the direction of the outlaw notice board, which appeared to be in the process of being updated. "I've spoken with a few pokémon here. It would seem the identity of the Time Gear thief has been discovered."

The Time Gear thief… Amidst all the existential chaos, Julia had nearly forgotten about the thief. She wondered if this much pandemonium was normal in this world.

"At long last!" Sir Majestic Tail also turned his head towards the notice board. "Once we know that petty criminal's identity, we'll finally be able to bring them to justice!"

It was hard for Julia to share in his enthusiasm when Flame was still unaccounted for. She was probably somewhere in the crowd, being harassed by a pair of pokémon she didn't remember. And if Lucky treated her the same way he'd treated Julia when _she'd_ told the truth about not knowing him, then who knew how she'd be able to handle that.

Without a word, Julia slipped into the crowd and began to look around for Flame. The pokémon were more tightly packed together the closer she got to the board, and squeezing past some of the larger explorers proved to be a difficult and irritating challenge.

Eventually, however, she spotted the dark blue of Flame's back and she managed to slink between a scyther's legs to reach her.

"Flame," Julia hissed, tapping her shoulder, "can we talk for - "

"Ju - Pikachu!" Flame interrupted as she turned to face Julia. "You're okay!"

Julia smirked slightly. "What, you thought I wouldn't be?"

"Of course I trusted you," Flame replied sheepishly, "but Lucky came in here saying you got all mangled up and - well, we all know he's a liar and all that, but - "

"Wait a second." Julia's entire body suddenly went ice-cold. "Lucky told you?"

Flame nodded. "Did he find you okay? He said he was going to go after you after what he did in the café. He seemed pretty upset about the whole thing."

This had to be some kind of joke. Flame must have already talked with Lucky and Perry and realized she had to pretend she knew them. There was no way she actually remembered them.

"Flame, it's okay." Julia lowered her voice, leaning in. "You don't have to act like you actually know those guys."

Flame put a paw over her mouth to stifle a giggle. "Oh, c'mon, Julia, they're not _that_ bad," she whispered back. "Without them, we wouldn't've gotten breakfast at all, right?"

"Ha."

Julia straightened up. Her eyes were unfocussed and her mind felt blank. It wasn't a joke. That whole conversation she'd had with Flame had been for nothing. Flame really _did_ remember the two like they'd been there all along. And if that was the case, Fluffy and Sir Majestic Tail also probably remembered them. That meant...that meant Julia was the only one who didn't.

She alone knew they weren't supposed to be here.

* * *

"Wow, we finally found you!"

Julia refocussed her vision as Lucky pushed his way past Loudred to join her and Flame. A moment later, Perry dropped down from above, looking frazzled.

"Speak of the devil," Julia muttered, feeling herself deflate slightly when Flame didn't have any sort of negative reaction to seeing the two appear.

"Man, this place is totally crazy!" Lucky said, wagging his tail in excitement. "We leave for oooooone moment to get a snack from downstairs, and suddenly there's like double the people!"

"Sorry, the crowd kinda closed in around me," Flame apologized, then she frowned. "Hey, when you said you got a snack, you don't mean you stole - "

"Attention, pokémon!" yelled a trio of loud voices from behind the outlaw notice board. Several pokémon jumped back in surprise and Perry had to quickly fly up onto Lucky's head to avoid being crushed. Julia recognized the voices as belonging to Dugtrio, Diglett's father, who was in charge of pinning job requests to the boards. That must have meant he was about to put up the outlaw notice.

"Please stand back!" the voices continued. "The board will now be updated with the information on the outlaw!"

The crowd began to move back and Julia suddenly found herself squished up against Flame. This close, the heat radiating from her body was almost overwhelming, and Julia tried to wiggle away from her to evade the painful warmth.

"Eep!" Flame squeaked, her face burning red. "J-Julia, what're you doing?"

Shit, did Flame think Julia was trying to cuddle up to her or something? Julia stopped moving around as she felt her own cheeks heat up. "S-sorry, I was just trying to put some space between us - "

"Update complete!"

There was a loud CLACK behind Julia as the job board was flipped around, and the throng of pokémon immediately moved back over to investigate it. Julia was released from her prison between a rock and a hot place and she sighed in relief, brushing off her fur. When she glanced over at Lucky, whose head was still serving as Perry's perch, she found him grinning impishly at her.

"Wowwwwwwwww."

"What're you wowing about?" Julia snapped.

"Oh, you know." He waggled his eyebrows.

Julia narrowed her eyes and looked away, giving an irritated 'tsk'. "Goddamn weirdo."

"U-um," Flame began, "we should try to get a look at the board now that it's been updated, right?"

"If the crowd'll let us," Julia replied. However, it wasn't long before pokémon closer to the board began to clear away, murmuring worriedly to each other. Once the crowd had thinned sufficiently and only Loudred and Sunflora stood in front of the board, Julia began to move forward. While she wasn't anywhere near as concerned about the Time Gear thefts as most other people seemed to be, she was still curious about the pokémon who was doing the deed.

Unsurprisingly, Lucky ran ahead of her, leaping up at Loudred and trying to clamber up onto his head. Perry vacated his perch immediately and hovered in the air above them to watch and cringe as Loudred flailed around angrily, trying to throw Lucky off.

"Get OFF me, RUNT!" Loudred yelled, swatting at the riolu with a hand. Looking cheekily defiant, Lucky dug in his claws.

"No way! I wanna get the best view of the outlaw! Stop moving around!"

"I SWEAR to the FUCKIN' GODS," Loudred snapped, "if you don't let go THIS instant, I'll - "

"Oh my gosh, just leave him be!" Sunflora huffed. "Is it really such a big deal to give the little guy a boost?"

Loudred looked like he wanted to argue, but he just gave a frustrated shake of the head and turned back towards the board. "FINE, you can get a QUICK look, but after that you'd better - "

"The outlaw's name is Grovyle!" Lucky announced. He hopped off Loudred's back and turned to face the remaining pokémon in the room. "It's Grovyle! You guys can all go home now!"

The room filled with annoyed groans and protests, but the majority of the non-guild crowd began to defeatedly walk away. Julia lowered one ear in mild annoyance.

"Way to spoil it, buddy," she grumbled, but she still looked up at the board to confirm it. Plastered in the middle of the wooden board was a piece of paper so large it covered multiple other outlaw notices and job requests. The pokémon drawn on it looked exactly like she'd expected - thin and wiry, with slitted eyes. The ransom, however…

"Two million Poké?!" Flame exclaimed, staring at the note in shock. "All for helping turn him in?!"

"Not only that," Sunflora said, "but they want him dead or alive, too! Eek!"

"It would only make sense," Dusknoir joined in, once again startling Julia with how suddenly he seemed to appear. "To steal multiple Time Gears is the most serious theft in this world."

* * *

**Y'know what, I'm just gonna end it here. This was supposed to be Sir Majestic Tail's chapter. Next week, I'll make sure it's right. See you all then.**


	18. Chapter 17: Ponyta

**I'm not going to bother setting up the scene here. We're just gonna pick up right where we left off. Sorry if it's a little jarring. I'm just tired.**

* * *

"I should say!" Sir Majestic Tail agreed as he and Fluffy joined Dusknoir and the others by the outlaw notice board. "Not that this result is any surprise, is it now, Dusknoir? Your deduction in Treeshroud Forest was absolutely correct! Grovyle was the thief after all!"

The trainees all looked confused and Lucky asked, "Whaddaya mean? Wow, did this smarty-smarts already solve the mystery?"

"I don't get it," Fluffy added, leaning in towards Dusknoir with her wool slightly puffed. "I thought you'd of told someone about that prediction. They could've already had Grovyle caught and executed!"

One of Sir Majestic Tail's hind legs twitched instinctively as he fought the urge to kick her. What was she thinking, casting doubt over the Great Dusknoir in front of these impressionable apprentices?! Had she learned absolutely nothing from their Treeshroud Forest trip? This blind hatred of a wholly commendable pokémon had to stop sometime, surely!

As usual, however, Dusknoir didn't give a negative reaction to the accusation. He merely crossed his arms and shook his head.

"While I understand where you're coming from, it was only a guess. It certainly wasn't enough to convict a pokémon with, let alone deliver punishment." To the still-confused guild members, he explained, "I first met these two at Treeshroud Forest. The three of us were investigating the Time Gear theft, and while I uncovered clues that pointed to Grovyle's involvement, I believed them not to be concrete enough to form a conclusion without further research."

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora squeaked, clapping her leaf-hands to her face. "I can't believe you two were lucky enough to work with the Great Dusknoir! What an honour!"

Sir Majestic Tail puffed his chest out. "Yes, indeed! We're very - "

"If you really _were_ me enough," Lucky cut in, "you _totally_ would've just stayed at home and eaten gummis!"

Sir Majestic Tail found he had no rebuttal for that. Lucky looked at the other pokémon expectantly, then pouted when they remained silent and unamused.

"Wow, you guys totally didn't get my joke, did you? It's cuz you said 'lucky', and _I'm_ \- "

Before he could finish, Perry flew up onto Lucky's shoulder and gripped it firmly with a talon. "They get it, brother," he said quietly.

It rather astounded Sir Majestic Tail that nobody had invented a mechanism to get Lucky to be silent for once. The mayhem he'd caused on the Amp Plains trip had been bad enough, but by the looks of it he had never heard of the word 'manners', let alone attempted to put them to use. One could only hope that a few more months of training at the guild would teach him how to be socially appropriate.

"I mean," began Fluffy, "I wouldn't've minded skipping the trip for some yellow gummis. They _are_ pretty good, y'know."

And one might also hope that a few weeks more of Sir Majestic Tail's presence would do the same for Fluffy. He pretended not to be bothered when Dusknoir chuckled softly in response to that.

"That's NICE and all, but Y'ALL are forgetting the REAL issue here." Loudred slapped the outlaw notice bearing Grovyle's visage with a paw. "Are we gonna go AFTER this guy or WHAT? In case you haven't NOTICED, he's PUBLIC ENEMY number ONE right now."

Fluffy snorted. "How tough can he be? He's just a wimpy grass-type." A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as she added, "I eat grass-types for breakfast!"

"_Really_, Fluffykins!" Sir Majestic Tail admonished, acutely aware of the horrified look over Sunflora's face. "Such talk is horribly inappropriate and uncalled for!"

"Oh, whatever."

That was Julia, who had been silently studying the outlaw notice while the others conversed. Now she stalked off towards the guild ladders, ears pinned back.

"While you all stand around talkin' about how you're gonna eat the guy or whatever, me n' Flame are actually gonna do something about it. Right, Flame?"

Flame started at the mention of her name, but she hurriedly followed after Julia. "Er, yeah! We'll see you guys later."

Before Sir Majestic Tail could do so much as bid them farewell (but not good luck), Chatot suddenly flew up the ladder tunnel from below and startled Julia enough to make her stumble backwards.

"What are you all doing, idling around up here?!" he demanded. "Hurry on downstairs for the guild meeting!"

"Sure thing, bossman!" Lucky woofed, immediately running towards the ladder. "Last one there doesn't love the guildmaster!"

Julia opened her mouth to protest, looking at the ladder that would lead out of the guild, then looked back to Chatot and clenched her jaw. "Fine," she said in a low mutter.

As the rest of the trainees headed downstairs, Sir Majestic Tail took a good look at the wanted poster. So this was the dreaded Time Gear thief, was it? While he hated the thought of siding with Fluffy's oversimplified view of the matter, he had to agree that taking Grovyle down shouldn't be much of a problem. Even as bold a grass-type pokémon as one who would dare steal the ties that held together the fabric of reality would have to bow to flames, and Sir Majestic Tail was certain he could easily end Grovyle's career as soon as he'd hunted him down. It would seem that Julia had had the right idea about marching straight out of the guild and finding him immediately.

"Lovely to see you, as ever," Sir Majestic Tail said to Chatot, dipping his head, "but I believe I shall be off now. Fluffy and I will be sure to capture that wicked Grovyle post-haste!"

Fluffy bounced in place enthusiastically. "Hell yeah, we'll burn that jerk to a crisp!"

"Well, something like that," Sir Majestic muttered, wincing.

Chatot turned his head, looking thoughtful. "Is that so? Then perhaps it would be better for you two to join us. The meeting will regard the capture of Grovyle, and we'll need all the assistance we can get." He made the approximation of a determined fist with his wing. "If we collaborate, I'm certain we'll have that brute captured in no time!"

Already, Sir Majestic Tail's hooves itched to gallop as far from Chatot as possible, but he had to remain civil, particularly with Dusknoir still watching.

"A-ah, well," he began, rubbing one foreleg against the other while pointedly looking past Chatot at the ladder that led to freedom. "While that's certainly...it's certainly an offer, but I'm not sure if we - neither of us are members of the guild, and it surely wouldn't be our place to intrude…"

"No, no, I insist!" Chatot assured, beaming pleasantly. "You are, after all, a former member of this guild, and this new teammate of yours - of course, I'd never be so brash to imply she's better than your former teammates - but she seems to exude a charisma more fitting of a high-ranking exploration team, and I believe she wouldn't at all be out-of-place among the trainees."

Sir Majestic Tail's lip curled and he clenched his teeth to avoid making a retort he knew he'd regret. He'd known Chatot hadn't approved of Bellsprout and Camerupt, but he didn't even _know_ Fluffy! If not for the ecstatic look on Fluffy's face, Sir Majestic Tail would have immediately wished Chatot a firm 'good day' and stormed off.

But who was he to ruin what was quite possibly the most exciting day of his friend's life?

"I suppose...if it's brief, perhaps it wouldn't be so terrible."

"Of course we'll join you, sir!" Fluffy added. "It would be our pleasure, right, Fffffsir Majestic Tail?"

So _now_ she used his full and proper name. How blatantly transparent of her! Without much other choice, Sir Majestic Tal gave a strained smile and nodded.

"If you really insist upon insisting, Chatot."

Satisfied, Chatot nodded, then looked at Dusknoir. "You, too - if you wouldn't mind so terribly much, that is."

Dusknoir made a soft 'hmm' noise as he thought it over for a moment. "While I do have another obligation to attend to today, I believe I shall have enough time to join, if I'm requested."

"Oh, dear, I hadn't been made aware that you had other plans!" Chatot squawked, flustered. "If it's too much trouble - "

"Not at all, Chatot," Dusknoir interrupted, giving a light chuckle. "It's an honour to join forces with this prestigious guild. Thank you for allowing me this opportunity."

Chatot blushed slightly, then hastily shook it off. "Come along, then, you three!" He flew down the ladder tunnel and Dusknoir sank down through the ground to the lower level. Fluffy turned her excited grin on Sir Majestic Tail.

"I just love that bird."

"That would make one of us," Sir Majestic Tail said under his breath.

But he followed Fluffy down the ladder without protest, taking mild amusement in the uncoordinated way she half-climbed, half-tumbled down the wooden rungs. Once downstairs, he paused to look around the room. It had been so long since he'd last been down here, but it still looked exactly the same as he remembered it. The guild members standing in neat lines in front of the doors to Wigglytuff's office, of course, were mostly different, but besides that it looked the same as it had when he'd trained there those many years ago.

"Fire-Butt's the last one!" Lucky suddenly yelled. "That means he doesn't love Wigglytuff!"

"Hush it, Lucky!" Chatot snapped while Sir Majestic Tail's face flamed in embarrassment and anger. "The meeting is about to begin!"

Dusknoir, Fluffy, and Sir Majestic Tail all joined the group, though they kept a slight distance away from the trainees. Chatot rapped on the door to the office and Wigglytuff emerged a moment later. To Sir Majestic Tail's shock, the normally-smiley guildmaster now wore a serious, stoic expression. Any whispering among the trainees instantly died and everyone fell silent.

"Is everyone here?" Chatot asked, scanning the pokémon in the room. "Very well, then, this meeting shall now commence." He took his place beside Wigglytuff at the front of the group and cleared his throat. "As you all should be well aware by now, a third Time Gear has been stolen. And yes, it was, indeed, the Time Gear from Fogbound Lake."

The concerned whispering started back up but faded quickly after Chatot shot everyone a severe look.

"Uxie has been taken in by Officer Magnezone for questioning and care," he continued. "They were injured in battle with Grovyle, but as we've been told, their injuries aren't severe. Additionally…" Chatot exchanged a brief glance with Wigglytuff. "...it seems Grovyle already knew of Fogbound Lake. According to the report, he claimed not to have known about this guild. So please do not throw any accusations at each other."

"Excuse me, Chatot," Dusknoir began, floating slightly nearer, "are you referring to the Fogbound Lake of legend? You seem to be implying you've visited it, but I was led to believe the guild found nothing on its expedition."

Now Wigglytuff spoke up. "Sorry, Dusknoir! We did find the lake, but since it was a Time Gear location, we made a promise to Uxie to keep quiet about it!" Though his tone was lighthearted, his voice lacked its usual cheerfulness. Sir Majestic Tail felt his flames dim slightly. Truly, if even Guildmaster Wigglytuff couldn't bring himself to keep up his joyful demeanour, the situation had to be very serious.

"So basically, we lied!" Lucky piped up before being muffled by one of Perry's wings. Dusknoir simply nodded.

"I understand. If you had told the truth about your expedition's findings, it would have put that Time Gear at risk of theft."

"But in the end, it changed nothing," Chatot went on, closing his eyes as he winced. "We did our best, and yet the thief found it anyways."

"This can only mean one thing," Dusknoir said gravely. "Grovyle must already know of the Time Gears' locations somehow."

Shock rippled through the guild, breaking the trainees' silence again. Fluffy didn't appear to understand the significance of this revelation but she acted surprised anyways.

"Hey hey hey," began Corphish, "does that mean he knows where the last two Time Gears are?" He put his pincers up against his face, looking horrified. "He could be stealing another one right as we speak, hey hey!"

That riled the guild up further and the worried murmuring rose in volume to noisy exclamations. Sir Majestic Tail glanced over at Wigglytuff and Chatot to see how they were handling this chaos and noticed that Wigglytuff was trembling. Oh, dear.

Sir Majestic Tail pinned back his ears and leaned down to whisper to Fluffy, "Brace yourself, dear, it's about to get very loud in here."

Before she could ask what he meant, Wigglytuff suddenly let out a vociferous "YOOM-TAH!" that reverberated through the entire room. Sir Majestic Tail flinched back and Fluffy dropped to the ground to cover her ears with her hooves while the rest of the guild yelled in surprise or otherwise were knocked back by the vocal blast.

When the sound had faded, everyone went stock-still and silent lest they trigger another deadly yoom-tah. Chatot, who was clearly very used to it, was the first to recover.

"Ahem. Back to the topic at hand." Everyone turned their attention back to him. Sir Majestic Tail found it hard to hear him over the sound of ringing in his ears, but he strained to listen anyways.

"Grovyle is reported to be very quick on his feet, meaning hunting him down blindly is a foolish venture. If it's true that Grovyle already knows where the remaining Time Gears are hidden, then our mission should be to attempt to locate the Time Gears ourselves. If we can find them before he takes them, we should be able to ambush him at those locations and bring him to justice."

"But HOW the HELL are we supposed to find THOSE?" Loudred countered. "NOBODY knows where the TIME GEARS are!"

Chatot faltered, looking uncertain about how to respond, when Dusknoir spoke up, "It may be true that we don't know where they are, either, but I believe it is possible to make some educated guesses. Sir Majestic Tail?"

Sir Majestic Tail started as he suddenly felt the eyes of everyone in the room trained on him. "Y-yes?" he managed, his voice coming out in an undignified squeak.

"As a high-ranking explorer, you're well acquainted with this land, correct?"

Sir Majestic Tail's cheeks coloured. Damn this Dusknoir! Why was it that his praise always made Sir Majestic Tail feel so flustered? Beside him, Fluffy was giving him some sidelong expression that he didn't care to recognize or acknowledge.

"Y-yes, sir," he stammered out, "I - I suppose you could say that - " He cleared his throat and tried again. "Indeed, I've travelled to the far reaches of this continent! Why, I could draw a map of the hundreds of dungeons across the land with my eyes closed!"

Sir Majestic Tail closed his eyes and raised his muzzle slightly as if to demonstrate. When he cracked an eye open to see how impressed the guild members looked with him, he was met with a large number of blank stares and only a few eager expressions. And one of the pokémon with that look was Lucky, who Sir Majestic Tail guessed was probably just eager to try to grab at his tail again.

"Yer _so _impressive," Fluffy hissed at Sir Majestic Tail, nudging him teasingly with a hind leg so nobody else could see.

Dusknoir gave no attention to the exchange if he'd noticed it and went on, "Then I believe if you and I and the leaders of this guild were to converse privately, we may be able to narrow down a list of locations that may house Time Gears."

"Ah, a brilliant suggestion!" Chatot exclaimed, clapping his wings together. "Well, then, that settles it! We shall convene in the guildmaster's office to discuss the matter! Everyone else, please take this time to stock up on supplies and prepare yourselves to venture out! You are dismissed, but be sure to return shortly!"

The guild members dispersed and headed up the ladder or into their rooms, but one of the pokémon, Corphish, immediately scuttled up to Sir Majestic Tail.

"Hey hey hey!" he said, waving his pincers around. "Before you head in there, can I make some suggestions?"

"Excuse me?"

Corphish began rummaging through his bag and yanking out multiple sheets of scribbled-on paper. "Hang on, I know it's in here somewhere - here!" He thrust one of the sheets at Sir Majestic Tail and held it out to him.

Sir Majestic Tail looked down at him suspiciously. "And just what is this supposed to be?"

"Hey hey, I know it's a little sudden, but I'm a huge fan of the Time Gears!" Corphish hurriedly explained. "I've dedicated pretty much my entire life to studying and theorizing on them, and hey hey hey, let me tell you, I've got a _lot_ of theories!"

Fluffy leaned in towards Sir Majestic Tail to whisper, "_Please_ let me zap him."

Reluctantly, he shook his head no at her.

"So here's what I was thinking, hey hey!" Corphish continued. "I've got way more lists of possible locations in my room, and if you want 'em, I'd be more than happy to grab them for you, but here's just one list! And I think this one's a real winner, hey hey! If this won't help you narrow down the possible locations of the Time Gears, nothing will!"

Dusknoir gently took the paper from Corphish and scanned it. "Thank you, Corphish," he said, "we'll be sure to take these into account. I appreciate your efforts."

Glowing with praise, Corphish hastily began stuffing the rest of the papers back into his bag. "Hey hey hey, glad to be of help! You know, if you _really_ wanted, I'm sure I could be useful in the meeting, but that's only if you really _really_ wanted someone who's as passionate about the Time Gears as myself to be - "

"Alright, that's quite enough." Chatot flew over, looking irritated. "We have more than enough heads working together here. You need to go out and fill your bag with more useful items than - " He waved a wing around. " - _conjecture_."

Corphish opened his mouth to begin an angered rebuttal, but Chatot was already shooing him away with his wings. "Off with you! Do not disturb the Great Dusknoir any more!"

When Corphish had finally ascended the ladder in a huff, Dusknoir closed his eye and chuckled. "You can't fault him for not being passionate enough, at least."

Chatot sighed, folding his wings up neatly. "Maybe so, but I do wish he would lessen his enthusiasm sometimes." He shot a quick glance around the room to make sure there weren't any guild members around, then he added in a hushed voice, "Really, the trainees can be such a handful! It's like trying to raise a whole lot of rebellious children!"

"But they're _our_ rebellious children and we love them," said Wigglytuff as he suddenly appeared right behind the bird, causing him to jump in shock, "isn't that right, Chatot?"

"Y-yes, but of course!" Chatot hastily replied, forcing a smile. "Anyhow! Let us proceed to your office to discuss our plan of action!"

He hopped off towards the office, Wigglytuff and Fluffy cheerfully trailing behind, and Sir Majestic Tail reluctantly followed. He wasn't sure he really wanted to be in an enclosed space with Chatot, even for a short while, but this was important. If they couldn't hunt down Grovyle before Grovyle hunted down the remaining two Time Gears, who knew what would happen?

"Hmm, I'm surprised," Dusknoir murmured behind Sir Majestic Tail. His eye was trained on the paper Corphish had given him. "Some of these locations appear to be quite viable."

"Erm, not to discredit your judgement," Sir Majestic Tail began, "but I would take those guesses with a grain of salt. Or several. That boy seemed...rather fanatical, wouldn't you say?"

"Appearances can be deceiving," Dusknoir replied, his voice tinged with a note of good-natured humour.

It was all Sir Majestic Tail could do to not to visibly swoon in front of him. Never had he met an explorer as enigmatic and charming and _wise_ as the Great Dusknoir! He suddenly wondered about that engagement Dusknoir would have to get off to after this meeting, and whether it would somehow be possible to join him and assist with whatever he was up to, but he quickly halted in this train of thought. No, the man should be allowed to keep his secrets! Surely, if he'd wanted Sir Majestic Tail's help, he would have asked him.

And besides, it was daft to think about these sorts of things when a much more important task was at hand - preventing Fluffy from utterly embarrassing the both of them during this conference with the guildmaster, his second-in-command, and last and most importantly Dusknoir. Doing his best not to stare too longingly at the ghost-type, Sir Majestic Tail joined the others in Wigglytuff's office and prepared for the surely lengthy, important, and painful conversation ahead.

* * *

A few excruciating hours later, the doors of the office opened and Sir Majestic Tail staggered out into the crew room. Fluffy trotted out behind him, tail perked up.

"Well, _that_ was boring," she stated.

Sir Majestic Tail shot her a sharp glare. "Really, now? I thought you were having just a grand old time being as contrarian as you were capable of!"

"It's called being helpful," she retorted.

Just as Sir Majestic Tail was about to snappishly argue with her, Dusknoir exited from the office and closed the doors behind him, then spoke up, "You did a fine job playing devil's advocate, Fluffy. Without your presence, we may have come to a conclusion too easily without considering our reasoning."

Sir Majestic Tail couldn't help giving him a sympathetic glance. While Fluffy had been a fine nuisance in there, arguing against every word anyone spoke or batting at the balls of scribbled-on paper that had accumulated as more ideas were rejected, Dusknoir never once raised his voice or called her out. If not for his remarkable ability to calmly defuse any situation, the discussion would have rapidly devolved into arguing.

Yet Dusknoir had clearly grown rather impatient as the meeting wore on, and even his deep and silky voice eventually took on a strained edge. He must not have expected the meeting to take quite so long. Even now, with the horrid meeting behind them, he had a sort of anxious energy to him, rubbing his fingertips idly against each other and darting his gaze across the handful of trainees loitering around the crew room.

"Why don't I go fetch Chimecho now, Dusknoir sir?" Sir Majestic Tail suggested. "She's very talented at bringing the guild together in a hurry!"

Dusknoir's stature momentarily relaxed and the grateful expression he sent at Sir Majestic Tail just about made the ponyta's heart melt. "Yes, that may be a good idea. I apologize for my impatience. I really do wish I had more time to spend here and continue providing guidance."

"Oh, gracious, do not apologize at all! You've already done just so much for us!"

The bottom part of Dusknoir's eye socket curved up in a smile. "You flatter me too much."

By _Arceus_, Sir Majestic Tail had never realized how gentle and soft Dusknoir could really look, and he got the feeling he was getting a tad fawn-eyed as he gazed at him, and then Fluffy was roughly shoving him from the side and sparking his flank with static and that snapped him out of it.

"Right," he said, shaking out his head, "I'm off."

On an informed hunch, Sir Majestic Tail trotted towards the dining hall and was pleased to find the room looking exactly as it had when he'd been a trainee himself so many years ago. The same lengthy table with its little wooden stools, the barrels of apples and spices, the vines growing wildly over the walls, and even the chimecho busying herself as she tidied the hall.

"Chimecho, dearest," Sir Majestic Tail called as he approached, "I hate to interrupt, but would you be so kind as to call the guild to the crew room? We've concluded our discussion."

Chimecho blinked, then set down the box she was holding and gave Sir Majestic Tail a light smile. "Not a problem, Ponyta."

Just as the two were leaving the room, Fluffy made herself known by the entrance. "Sounds like you guys know each other, eh?"

Sir Majestic Tail tutted. "Were you eavesdropping? I'd thought you'd stayed behind with Dusknoir."

"Like I'd ever wanna do that!"

"You really must excuse her." Sir Majestic Tail shot Chimecho an apologetic look. "I'm doing my best to teach her some manners."

Chimecho giggled, a light and tinkly little sound. "It's no problem! If you were wondering, Mareep, I started training at the guild while Ponyta was still a member. He liked my cooking so much I began doing it full-time here. In a way, it's his fault I'm still working here instead of going out and becoming a real explorer."

"That's awful!" Fluffy said, gasping. "What a jerk!"

Chimecho giggled again. "Oh, it's nothing like that! I enjoy cooking for the guild! Besides, I'm being paid for my time now, so it's well worth it."

"You're quite welcome for that," Sir Majestic Tail said, smiling smugly at Fluffy. Chimecho flew off, ringing her bell and calling out the announcement that everyone was to meet in the crew room.

Soon, the room filled with trainees, all of whom appeared to be too excited to form their usual tidy lines. Chatot had to fly over to count heads, and he landed back at the front of the room with an irritated expression on his face.

"Has anyone seen Lucky or Perry?"

The trainees looked at each other to confirm that the brothers were indeed missing from the group, and annoyed murmuring started up.

"How irksome," Sir Majestic Tail muttered to Dusknoir and Fluffy, who stood on either side of him. "You'd think that even the rowdiest trouble-makers would be on time for such an important meeting!"

"One would think," Dusknoir agreed softly, looking over at the ladder. It surprised Sir Majestic Tail somewhat that Dusknoir didn't have the same humouring tone this time. Whatever appointment he had after this must have been very important for him to be annoyed at having to wait for the guild members to finish arriving. Then again, he'd already clearly been delayed by the discussion with Chatot and the guildmaster. Odds were he was very late for whatever it was.

There was a loud thump as Lucky suddenly dropped down on the sill of the nearest window from the outside. Chatot squawked in alarm, ruffling his wings.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he exclaimed.

"Ha, I totally beat him!" Lucky woofed, squeezing through the wooden crosses of the window and dropping to the floor. A moment later, Perry flew down the ladder tunnel. Upon spotting Lucky, he grimaced.

"I can't believe you actually dropped down all that way," he said, sighing. "How are your legs?"

Lucky stood up and extended out each leg in turn. "Not-broken!" he announced cheerfully.

"What were you doing on the wrong side of the window?!" Chatot demanded. "What possessed you to try climbing in from the outside like that?!"

"I made a bet with Perry," Lucky explained. "I told him I could reach the lower floor faster from the outside than he could from the inside, and he said nuh-uh, so I raced him and I totally - "

"Never mind, I don't want to hear it!" Chatot snapped. "Just get to your places! You've held us up long enough!"

As Lucky stiffly walked over to where Julia and Flame stood, Sir Majestic Tail could faintly hear him whisper to them, "Don't tell Chatot, but I totally sprained my ankle, haha."

The stupidity of guild trainees these days knew no bounds! At least Lucky hadn't been chosen to join an expedition team this time. An injury like that would be too much of a liability when the mission was so important.

"Now that we've all gathered here, allow me to outline the mission ahead." Chatot pulled out the paper he'd written his final notes on and held it with a wing so he could read from it. "After much discussion, we have narrowed down the list of possible dungeons to these three. Two of you will be assigned to search each dungeon, with Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy the mareep as team leaders for two of the dungeons." He paused to look out over the trainees and lay his eyes on Corphish.

"However, while it was the input of these three talented explorers that was paramount to our final decision, it has been brought to my attention that our own Corphish has also done a great deal of research into the subject of Time Gears, and whose guesses at locations nearly perfectly matched ours."

While he sounded somewhat reluctant to be singling Corphish out, Sir Majestic Tail could detect the faint hint of pride in his voice. "As such, the guildmaster and I have decided it is only right to allow Corphish to lead the third team."

"Hey hey hey, are you for real?!" Corphish clapped his pincers together, his face exuding sheer excitement. "I _knew_ that list was right! I won't let you down, sirs, hey hey!"

Chatot nodded to him, then continued, "Without any further ado, here are the dungeons and the teams that will be assigned to them. First off, we have Crystal Cave, which will be explored by Fluffy, Sunflora, and Dugtrio. Please be thorough when venturing through this cave system, understand?"

"Understood!" Sunflora replied, looking back at Fluffy with a wary expression. Fluffy raised a foreleg and waved at her sheepishly.

"The next group will be Sir Majestic Tail, Flame, and Chimecho. You three will be exploring Northern Desert."

Sir Majestic Tail beamed at the two other members of his team. He had personally requested that Chatot choose those two to journey there with him. Chimecho may have been relegated to kitchen duties at the guild, but he knew her well enough to know she could hold her own in battle, and Flame was an obvious choice. Not only was she stronger than she seemed to realize, she also had the best name of all the pokémon here. That was the kind of aesthetic Sir Majestic Tail lived for.

"And finally, the third team will be Corphish, Loudred, and Bidoof. You three will be exploring Eastern Forest."

"Hey hey hey, are you kidding me?!" Corphish exclaimed, waving his pincers around. "That's the _one _location that wasn't on my list! There ain't no Time Gear there, I guarantee it!"

Chatot gave him a sharp look. "I don't want to hear any of that coming from you! Be glad you've been given the honour of

will be Sir Majestic Tail, Flame, and Julia. You three will be exploring Northern Desert."

Sir Majestic Tail beamed at the other two members of his group, though it waned slightly when he laid eyes on Julia, who was frowning back at him. It hadn't been Sir Majestic Tail's idea to put Julia on the team. Even she seemed to recognize how foolish it was to assign an electric-type to a desert. At least there was the consolation that Flame was quite strong. She should have no trouble making up for the things Julia lacked.

"And finally, the third team will be Corphish, Loudred, and Lucky. You three will be exploring Eastern Forest."

"Hey hey hey, are you serious?!" Corphish exclaimed, waving his pincers around angrily. "I didn't even put Eastern Forest on my list!" He was also glaring at Lucky, who had an expression of innocent surprise.

Chatot gave Corphish a sharp look. "I don't want to hear any of that coming from you! Be glad you've been given the honour of leading a team at all!"

"But you heard him," Lucky added, jerking a thumb in Corphish's direction. "He's supposed to be the local Time Gear expert, right? So if it's not on his list, there's definitely no Time Gear there!"

"Y-yeah!" Corphish agreed, now looking torn about whether or not to be upset about Lucky being assigned to him. "I guarantee you, we won't find any Time Gear there, hey hey!"

"Enough!" Chatot snapped, flapping his wings irritably. "Those are the decisions we've made and we're not about to change members around just because you don't like the location you're going to!"

Corphish settled down at that, but he kept grumbling under his breath. Lucky walked over to pat him on the back comfortingly.

"As for the rest of you who haven't been assigned," Chatot continued, "please spend the day doing research on your own time! The Wigglytuff Guild shall not rest until Grovyle is captured!"

The guild cheered at that, and the members either joined their groups or returned to the upper floor. As Chimecho floated past on her way to the kitchen, she shot Sir Majestic Tail a warm smile.

"Good luck on the Time Gear search," she said. Sir Majestic Tail returned the smile, though his was a little more forced.

"Thank you. We'll do our best."

He wished he could have chosen her to join his team. It had been a long time since he'd last had the opportunity to talk with her, and he would have liked to catch up with her while on this mission. Then again, it was probably for the better she hadn't been assigned to him. While he'd been a trainee, Chimecho - then Chingling - had been quite the gossip. Shutting her up had been a near-impossible task. If she was anything like that now, it was likely he'd have spent more time chatting with her than actually looking for the Time Gear.

"I bid you two a good day," said Dusknoir to Sir Majestic Tail and Fluffy. He looked strangely pensive, his arms folded over his chest while he looked out over the guild members. Sir Majestic Tail tried to follow his gaze but couldn't figure out who or what he was looking at. When he looked back, Dusknoir was already gone.

"Ugh, I hate that spooky ghost guy," Fluffy muttered. Sir Majestic Tail tapped one of her horns with a hoof in a reproachful manner.

"Will you kindly cease talking about Dusknoir in such a way? Your irrational hatred is really beginning to get my tail in a twist!"

Fluffy snorted, then hit him with a light blast of electricity. "Whatever, Fire-Butt." She then turned to Sunflora and Dugtrio, who were standing in front of her expectantly. "So, uh, let's go, team! How about _you_ guys lead the way to Crystal Cave so I know you know how to follow a map? I'll be testing you!"

Sunflora exchanged a concerned look with Dugtrio. "I...guess so, if that's what you want," she replied.

"I will meet you two outside," Dugtrio said, then vanished underground. Sunflora sighed and headed up the ladder.

Before Fluffy left, Sir Majestic Tail gave her a gentle nudge. "Don't worry about a thing, Fluffykins, I'm sure you'll do fine."

She smirked and gave him another weak static shock in response. "Me, too. Don't drown in quicksand, Fire-Butt!" Then, turning on her heel, she trotted over to the ladder and began her awkward ascent.

Across the room, Corphish, Lucky, and Loudred had somehow entered a three-way argument where each of them was yelling about something completely different. Chatot, instead of standing around to watch it, just let out a disapproving sigh and returned to the office with Wigglytuff. Now it was just Corphish's team, Sir Majestic Tail, Flame, and Julia left in the room. The latter two had walked up to Sir Majestic Tail and were looking up at him expectantly.

"I hope he'll be alright," said Perry, glancing back at Lucky apprehensively. Oh, and apparently Perry was also there. Sir Majestic Tail hadn't even noticed the tiny bird just behind Julia and Flame.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Julia asked. She, too, was watching Lucky as he hopped enthusiastically around Corphish and Loudred, keeping his weight off his injured leg.

"I dunno. He's usually okay on his own, it's irrational to even be worrying about him." Perry sighed. "Still, I'm worried he'll do something dumb if I'm not there to watch him."

"If yesterday was any indication," Sir Majestic Tail said, "he'll act foolish regardless of whether or not you're keeping an eye on him. Hmph! I say let him learn the hard way not to take unnecessary risks!"

"That's kinda harsh, isn't it?" Flame asked with a wince.

"Failure is life's best teacher, you know!"

Perry laughed uncomfortably, evidently not in agreement. "Yeah. I guess." He shot another glance back, then muttered, "I wish you all good fortune," before flying off up the ladder.

That was quite enough distraction, Sir Majestic Tail decided, and addressed his two teammates, "Well, then, let's not dawdle! Northern Desert is a good distance from Treasure Town and we'll have to make haste if we wish to reach it before nightfall!"

"Um…" Flame tapped the tips of her paws together. "Do you think...it would maybe be okay if you carried us on your back again? It'd be really hard to keep up with you otherwise."

Now _there_ was a silly question! As the leader of this team, it was Sir Majestic Tail's duty to show off his strengths to these impressionable trainees, and what good would it be if they were trailing too far behind him to watch him gallop at full speed?

"But of course!" he responded, tossing his mane proudly. "I wouldn't rob you of yet another chance to ride the fastest ponyta alive!"

Julia grumbled something under her breath, too quietly for Sir Majestic Tail to hear. He decided to assume it was something flattering to him and not address it further.

The three of them ascended the ladders and passed Fluffy, who had tiredly collapsed on the main floor after her arduous climb up the first ladder. Next to her, Sunflora stared at the mareep in dismay. Sir Majestic Tail felt as though he ought to have a little more sympathy for Fluffy, but he knew karma when he saw it, and he was certain she'd still be paying for her rudeness and disruptiveness during the meeting. Still, he offered her a pitying expression before he climbed the second ladder. She weakly blew a raspberry at him.

Outside the guild, the sun still shone brightly above them, but it was clear it wouldn't hang up there for much longer. They only had a few hours at most to reach Northern Desert and make their way through it before it became too dark to keep going.

A piece of paper fluttered down from above and promptly incinerated itself in Sir Majestic Tail's mane. Sir Majestic Tail blinked, confused, then looked up. The dark shadow of a pelipper flew by, as did the shadow of another piece of paper. This one Julia caught and she looked it over with a frown.

"Another wanted poster? Geez, how many forests did they demolish to get all this paper?"

"I beg pardon?" Sir Majestic Tail asked, but his question was answered for him when he noticed the plethora of papers covering the stairs leading away from the guild. Even as he stared at them, another wanted poster landed by his hooves.

"I guess the pelippers are still at it, huh?" said Flame. "They were dropping these while we were buying our supplies, too. There's probably this many to make sure every pokémon in Treasure Town knows about Grovyle."

Julia made a dismissive sound and turned to walk down the stairs. "I'm beginning to see what Lucky meant," she grumbled. "These pelippers _are_ annoying as hell."

"Excuse you," Sir Majestic Tail began as he trotted along next to her, "they are serving a very important role here! If they don't deliver all these - yeeeek!"

As he'd been speaking, he'd accidentally slipped on several wanted posters and lost his footing. He gracelessly tumbled halfway down the staircase before he managed to get back on his hooves. Quickly, he stood up very straight and stared back at Julia and Flame in horror, looking like a deer caught in lamplights. Flame had the sense to look concerned for him, but Julia was cackling.

"Nice going, fancy feet," she snickered.

Sir Majestic Tail's flames burned higher as his cheeks darkened. He could practically see their respect for him dissipate into thin air. What an absolutely mortifying misstep!

"You are not to speak of this," he instructed curtly. "To anyone. Ever."

"Sure thing," Julia responded, her voice edged with sarcasm.

"I mean it!"

"Aw, give the poor guy a break, Julia," Flame said, lightly touching her shoulder. "He's our chaperone, after all. And he _did_ choose _us_ for this expedition. It'd be rude to make fun of him."

Sir Majestic Tail opened his mouth to begin a retort that no, he _hadn't_ chosen them both to be on his team, but Julia's amused look had already vanished. When she met Sir Majestic Tail's eyes, her expression almost seemed to say, _I know._

The three settled into a sort of awkward silence as they reached the bottom of the stairs and assumed travelling formation with Flame sitting further forward on Sir Majestic Tail's back and Julia sitting behind her. Once he had ensured both were holding on tightly, he set off down the path and into the wilderness.

The ride over was mostly uneventful. Flame occasionally tried to make conversation, but her voice was lost to the howling of the wind that blew past as Sir Majestic Tail galloped. He was grateful for the silence; after that endless discussion earlier, he was content to remain quiet. Even one who liked to talk as much as he needed a break every now and then.

Occasionally, a pelipper would pass overhead, outlaw notices trailing behind them like giant flapping snowflakes. It was obviously for the purpose of giving even feral pokémon out in the wilds the opportunity to learn about Grovyle, but Sir Majestic Tail privately thought the effort was wasted on them. Even if there were a handful of intelligent ferals out here, the chance of them being able to read footprint runes or even giving two shits about the Time Gear thefts was next to nothing.

After about half an hour of intermittent galloping and trotting, the grassy plains beneath Sir Majestic Tail's hooves began to give way to soft sand and he was forced to slow to a walk. With each step he took, his hooves sank uncomfortably deep into the sand, and particles stuck to the fur around his fetlocks. He gradually grew more and more disgusted with the sandy mess on his hooves until he finally reached his breaking point and came to a halt, glaring down at the sand.

"Alright, I think that's quite far enough. Both of you, off."

Julia hopped off his back right away; Flame slid down a little more carefully. While Sir Majestic Tail shook off his legs, the two trainees looked around at their surroundings. Desert stretched out in front of them, broken up by massive formations of sandstone and occasional patches of cacti. The sun, now slightly lower in the sky, cast a warm hue over everything.

"So this is the Northern Desert, huh?" Flame asked, squinting ahead through the maze of sandstone pillars. "It looks...big."

"You're quite correct in your observation," Sir Majestic Tail said. "This is not a particularly high-level mystery dungeon, but it's rather bothersome to get through. However, considering how quickly we arrived - no need to thank me, just doing my duty! - we should have no difficulty clearing it before nightfall! And, if we're lucky, the clear weather will hold and make our passage a breeze!"

In retrospect, Sir Majestic Tail had perhaps jinxed them by using the word 'breeze'. No sooner had they begun their exploration of the desert than a wicked sandstorm kicked up, buffeting the trio with a barrage of sand particles and reducing visibility by a ridiculous amount. It was impossible for Sir Majestic Tail to battle the feral cacneas and sandshrews when he was so acutely aware of how terribly his fur was being tarnished by the whirling sand. He wasn't a fan of deserts, even on the best of days, but this was just cruel of nature!

Flame, as Sir Majestic Tail had anticipated, excelled despite the sandstorm. Since she seemed to keep her eyes squinted shut as a default, she didn't appear to be having difficulty keeping sand out of them, and she exhibited just as much power as he'd seen her use in Amp Plains. Even rock-type pokémon who attacked her stood no chance against her fiery blasts.

Julia, on the other hand… Well, there was no nice way to put it. She was doing terribly. Her insistence on walking on her hind legs despite being quadrupedal made her movements in the deep sand slow and awkward, resulting in her always trailing behind the other two team members. Too often, Sir Majestic Tail and Flame had to stop and wait for her as she stubbornly waded through the sand at a snail's pace. Her electric attacks were nearly-useless against the ferals, made worse by the fact that some wild pokémon had the ability to attract her discharges and harmlessly absorb them. When the storm ebbed enough for the three to take a quick break beside a wall-like rock formation, Julia looked tired, frustrated, and angry.

"This is bullshit," she growled around a mouthful of oran berry. "Why the hell'd you all pick me for this one?"

"For Arceus's sake, _language_!" Sir Majestic Tail scolded. Julia rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll use whatever language I damn well want," she retorted.

"And I'll have you know, I didn't choose for you to be on this team. I obviously wouldn't choose such an ill-suited pokémon for the job."

Julia glared at him suspiciously. "Alright, then who roped me into this?"

Sir Majestic Tail tried to think back, but he couldn't for the life of him remember which person at the meeting had put her on his team. "Probably Fluffy, the silly thing. She always thinks she has something to prove. I'd wager she wanted to show off how well an electric-type can fare in the desert."

"Ugh." Julia stuffed the rest of the berry in her mouth as a wave of airborne sand rolled past, then swallowed and wiped her mouth with the corner of her bandana. "First Amp Plains, now this shit. It's like the universe wants to make me feel weak."

"You're not weak!" Flame insisted, putting a paw on Julia's shoulder. "It's not your fault those rhyhorns have the lightningrod ability, right? It's not gonna be like this with every place we visit!"

Julia stood, made a futile effort to shake off the sand that had stuck to her legs and rear, and rubbed her forehead with a paw. "Yeah, I know," she said with a sigh. "Just warning you, though, if the Time Gear's not here, I'm gonna be pissed."

Flame giggled a little at that. "More than you already are?"

"I'll be pissed enough to pry off a rhyhorn's shell," she responded. "After we're done here, I'm never going to another desert ever again."

Sir Majestic Tail shuddered at the horrific mental imagery despite Julia's joking tone of voice. Her caustic manner of speech reminded him somewhat of Fluffy, but it was somehow harsher, like how he'd expect a thug to talk. He got the feeling that someone like Flame, with so much promise and such a gentle nature, shouldn't be hanging around a coarse pokémon like Julia, but who was he to judge Flame's choice of companions? That would be a very Chatot thing to do, and Arceus above knew the last person Sir Majestic Tail wanted to be like was that obnoxious bird.

They set off again, though now the sandstorm was beginning to decrease in severity. With visibility restored, the going was much quicker, but the sky above had grown orange as the sun slid down towards the horizon, and it was clear both Julia and Flame were running out of steam. If they didn't make it to the end of the dungeon soon, it would get too late to keep exploring safely.

Just as the dark blue of night was beginning to creep in overhead, the walls of sandstone opened up into an open stretch of desert dotted with occasional outcroppings of rock. It had been a long while since Sir Majestic Tail had last visited Northern Desert, but he recognized this as the end of the dungeon.

"At last!" he said, trotting ahead. "It would appear we've finally - "

"Whoawhoawhoa, hold up, horsie!"

Sir Majestic Tail halted in his tracks, one foreleg raised in mid-step. He recognized the voice, but there was no way it belonged to the person he thought it belonged to.

"Who's there?!" he demanded, whirling around to look for the speaker. "Show yourself!"

From the top of one of the nearby rocky pillars, partially obscured by the dark of the dying twilight, hopped a riolu. He landed neatly in the sand behind Sir Majestic Tail's group, then stumbled and had to lean against the wall to regain his balance.

"Whoops, forgot about my ankle!" he said, letting out strained laughter. "Hey, any of you got some oran berries to spare?"

"L-Lucky?!" Sir Majestic Tail sputtered, pinning his ears back in alarm. "What in blazes - ?!"

"What are you _doing_ here?!" Flame filled in for Sir Majestic Tail. "You were supposed to go with Corphish, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I totally was!" Lucky replied, limping over to them. "But Corphish was complaining the whooooole time how there's definitely no Time Gear there, and Loudred was being way annoying, too, so I ditched those guys!"

Even in the dark, illuminated only by his flames, Sir Majestic Tail could see Lucky's fur was perfectly clean, if a little ruffled. In contrast, both Flame and Julia's fur were matted by sand, and Sir Majestic Tail guessed - not without an internal shudder of disgust - that his own fur, too, was a disheveled mess.

Julia was also looking him over and taking in his cleanliness. "You didn't go through the dungeon, did you?"

Grinning, Lucky put his paws behind his back. "Nope! That would take waaaaaay too long, y'know? I just got a pelipper to fly me right over!"

"A pelipper?" Flame asked at the same time Sir Majestic Tail asked in bewilderment, "You can _do_ that?!"

"Yeppers! Haven't you seen those guys? They're, like, everywhere! So I just waved one down, paid it some money, and flew out over here!"

Sir Majestic Tail was having difficulty forming words. What to say first - admonish him for abandoning his group, scold him for bribing a pelipper, whine at him for skipping the entire dungeon, or have a furious meltdown over the fact that pelippers could apparently fly one directly to the end of a mystery dungeon and nobody had told him this sooner?

While he was busy gaping like a magikarp at the riolu, Julia asked a question of her own. "So, what do you want? Why'd you tell Ponyta to stop?"

"Glad you asked!" Lucky cheerily replied. He hobbled past Sir Majestic Tail towards the open desert, then came to a stop at a certain point. "Can you see the sand here? Oh wait, of course you can't, it's, like, pitch-black out now! Anyways, this place is full of quicksand and you probably would've all died if not for me!" He winked. "You're welcome!"

"Quicksand?" Sir Majestic Tail cautiously approached the area Lucky was standing in, then skittered backwards. Of course! How could he have forgotten? "Goodness, you're right! Would you look at that, the sand's all being drawn down into the ground here!"

"Th-that sounds pretty dangerous," Flame squeaked. "Maybe we should come back when it's light? There's no way we can maneuver around quicksand pits at night."

Sir Majestic Tail shook his head. Now that his memory was coming back to him, he recalled his first mission here years ago, back when he'd still been with Maractus and Lanturn. "I'm sorry, but this is the end of the road. The quicksand is absolutely everywhere. It's not possible to keep going beyond this point."

"Darn," Flame murmured. Julia walked up next to Sir Majestic Tail to squint at the large patch of sand where granules slowly moved down towards its central point, like some kind of languid whirlpool.

"Are you really sure there's nothing out here?" she asked, brows furrowed as if she was thinking hard about something. "What if…"

To Sir Majestic Tail's alarm, she stepped forward into the radius of the sinking sand. Before he could do anything, Lucky suddenly yelped, "Julia, no!" and darted forward, shoving her out of the way. His injured foot, however, gave way beneath him and he toppled backwards into the centre of the pit. He didn't even have enough time to let out a cry as he vanished beneath the sand.

"L-Lucky?!" Julia got to her paws and made as if to run back to the quicksand pit, but Sir Majestic Tail swiftly stuck out a leg to bar her way.

"Are you mad?!" he demanded. "What good will it do us to lose both of you at once?!"

Julia gritted her teeth and shoved Sir Majestic Tail's leg aside. "Outta the way, you stupid - "

Quickly, Flame ran up behind her and wrapped her paws around Julia's arms to restrain her. "Stop it, Julia! There's nothing we can do!"

"B-but - this can't be!" Julia struggled feebly, but it was clear she'd lost her fight. "He - he just came back! There's no way he'd - !"

Sir Majestic Tail looked from her to the pit Lucky had fallen into. There was no sign of movement or struggling underneath that sand. He felt his breath catch in his throat and his legs felt wobbly. How could that have happened so quickly? The riolu had appeared out of nowhere and had vanished just as suddenly.

His pulse quickened. It had happened again. It had happened again, and just like last time, he'd done nothing to prevent it from happening. He was a failure. No, a traitor. A monster.

When had he dropped to his knees? When had tears begun to gather in his eyes? It didn't matter. None of it mattered. His whole life had amounted to nothing, after all. Some star student he was.

"Sir Majestic Tail?"

Flame's voice rang hollowly in his ears. He wanted to respond, to let her know he'd heard her and wasn't just ignoring her like the worthless trash he was, but what could he possibly say?

Just as the dark blue of night was beginning to creep in overhead, the walls of sandstone opened up into an open stretch of desert dotted with occasional outcroppings of rock. It had been a long while since Sir Majestic Tail had last visited Northern Desert, but he recognized this as the end of the dungeon.

"At last!" he said, trotting ahead. "It would appear we've finally arrived at the end! And now that we're - "

All of a sudden, his body was racked with a powerful electric shock and he halted as paralysis set in.

"Wh-what?!" Sir Majestic Tail managed to sputter, turning his head painfully to look back. Julia was staring at him, wide-eyed, while Flame looked aghast.

"Julia, what the heck did you do that for?!"

"I-I…" Julia's voice wavered and she seemed to shrink back into herself. "S-sorry, but - th-there's quicksand ahead. I had to stop you. I didn't know what else to do."

Sir Majestic Tail looked back at the open desert and found, to his alarm, that Julia was right. Though it was hard to see in the dying light, there was a pool of sinking sand right in front of him. If he'd taken just one more step, he would have been dragged in.

"G-great Ar-Arceus, you're r-right," he said. It was hard to speak through this paralysis, but he much preferred it to being suffocated in the sand.

Now that he thought about it, however, he _did_ remember there being quicksand pools out here. It had been so long since he'd last visited Northern Desert that he'd completely forgotten. He managed to stiffly walk backwards, feeling very silly. He should have been more careful, even if there hadn't been any danger out here.

Flame looked impressed with Julia, turning her head to look from the quicksand to her companion. "That's amazing, Julia! How'd you manage to see that?"

Julia was shaking, eyes trained on the ground. "L-lucky guess."

"Guess?" Flame echoed doubtfully. "How can you just guess something like that?"

"N-nevermind." Julia flicked a glance back at one of the rock pillars behind them. "Sorry again, Sir Majestic Tail."

While the two had been talking, Sir Majestic Tail had arduously dug through his bag with his muzzle until he'd found a paralysis-healing cheri berry. As he chewed it up, he felt the stiffness in his body dissipate. He sighed at the feeling of relief, then turned back towards the other two.

"Do not apologize, my dear sitrus fruit," he said, earning him a half-confused, half-offended look from Julia. "Your quick thinking may have just saved my life! You have nothing to feel sorry about!"

She laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah. I guess."

"Now then, I say we leave this desert at once," Sir Majestic Tail said. "We've explored it to the best of our ability, but it's evident there's nothing more for us here."

"Looks like it." Flame sighed. "That sucks. I thought we'd be able to find a Time Gear here."

"As did I." Sir Majestic Tail tried not to sound too disappointed. It was a bitter pill to swallow that both Corphish _and _a team of four highly advanced (and one highly inexperienced) adventurers had been wrong about this location, but the sooner they moved on, the sooner they could begin to explore other possibilities.

He pulled his explorer badge from his bag and teleported out. In the split second before the light engulfed him, he caught a glimpse of Julia staring out over the desert, eyes narrowed in her characteristic look of suspicion. Then the light faded and Sir Majestic Tail was back at the beginning of the desert. He hastily trotted into the more densely-packed sand where grass grew thinly and he relished the feeling of solid ground beneath his hooves. He had to agree with Julia - the desert was bullshit.

It was a couple minutes before Julia and Flame joined him. He passed the time by staring up at the dark blue sky, trying to pick out the vague constellations as their stars slowly faded into visibility. He was almost beginning to worry that Julia had done something like jumping into the quicksand when two beams of pale blue light a few yards away signalled their appearance. Julia had a look of concentration on her face while Flame wore a tired, humouring expression. It was anyone's guess what they had just been talking about.

"Well, don't dawdle now!" Sir Majestic Tail called to them. "The guild will have long gone to bed before we arrive if you don't hurry!"

"Gods, are we going to miss dinner _again_?" Flame groaned as she scurried over. Julia obligingly ran over as well, but her mind was clearly occupied with something else.

Sir Majestic Tail lowered himself to his knees so the two of them could climb on his back, and once they were on he set off towards Treasure Town at a trot.

"I'd like you both to know, you did very well today," he told them, shooting a glance back. "Flame, you're a very powerful young pokémon, and I'm certain you'll have a great future ahead of you if you keep up your training!"

He felt Flame shuffle around on his back and he imagined her wearing a modest expression. "O-oh, um, thank you, Sir Majestic Tail," she mumbled.

"And you too, Julia. You admittedly struggled for the bulk of the mission, but your sharp eyes and mind prevented my untimely retirement!" He chuckled lightly. "You may not have been my first choice for such an expedition, but you proved to be invaluable."

"It was nothing," Julia said, sounding distant.

"Don't sell yourself short like that, dear! Your action made up for your weakness in battle!"

Julia fell quiet, and Sir Majestic Tail was about to pick up the pace when the pikachu suddenly asked, "Hey, unrelated, but...how d'you think Lucky's doing?"

The question surprised Sir Majestic Tail. He paused to look back at Julia, who met his gaze evenly. Somehow, he got the strange sense that she was testing him.

"If I know him at all," Sir Majestic Tail said, "he's likely off doing something remarkably silly. Why do you ask?"

Julia seemed to sink down in relief. "No reason. Just...checking."

Checking what? he almost asked, but decided there was no point. Julia and Flame were both clearly worn out from the Northern Desert exploration and he shouldn't fault them for saying anything nonsensical. Exhaustion had a way of doing things to one's mind.

"Hold on, you two. We're going home now."

* * *

**Alright, look. I knew I'd have to address the elephant in the room eventually, but I've been trying to put it off. I've been really busy with schoolwork and writing has had to take a backseat for now. Normally I'd be editing this properly. I'd really like to, honestly. This sort of shit shouldn't be going down in my own damn story. But honestly, I'm tired and I don't have the energy to deal with this.**

**Y'know what, maybe that's not quite it. It's less that I'm getting lazy with my editing and more that I'm curious. I shouldn't be just _letting_ this happen, but some part of me wants to know how it'll play out if I don't interfere. I'm sick of deleting shit, quite frankly.**

**Anyways, I'll be trying to keep up my usual upload schedule, but no promises. Thanks to all of you readers for sticking with me and leaving amazing reviews. They're pretty much the only things keeping me going right now. See you all next week, unless I don't.**


	19. Chapter 18: Mareep

**Remember how I said I had a lot of school to do? That was a lie. My whole life has, in fact, become school. I feel like I barely have any time to edit these damn chapters, let alone write new ones. Upload schedule is now once every two weeks out of necessity, but rest assured I have no intent of quitting. I have to finish this story no matter what. If I can't end it, I'll have failed.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

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Darkness pressed in all around Fluffy. The air was suffocating and her body felt numb with exhaustion. She knew she would have to give up, give out, and fall into the black, but above her shone a faint light that urged her onwards. Gritting her teeth in determination, she ascended towards that guiding light…

...and finally reached the top of the guild's ladder.

Fluffy collapsed on the solid ground beneath the wigglytuff-shaped entrance tent and let out a deep sigh. She had finally overcome the greatest pair of trials she had ever faced. Finally, she could rest.

"Um, Mareep?"

Fluffy tilted her head up to meet eyes with the speaker. Sunflora - who had long overtaken Fluffy on the climb out - stood in front of her, wearing a concerned frown.

"Wha?" Fluffy managed.

"You're...not very used to climbing ladders, are you?"

Fluffy's mind tiredly tried to come up with some kind of answer to that. She couldn't blow her cover and let her new temp team realize she wasn't, in fact, a senior explorer. She'd have to be clever about it.

"I'm really good at going down them," she settled on saying. "How 'bout _you_ try doing gymnastics with hooves?"

Sunflora opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. "I...okay."

"That's what I thought."

Fluffy heaved herself back onto her hooves. She'd kept Sunflora and...whoever that guy with the three heads was...waiting long enough. Fortunately, being a former feral meant her body was quick to recover from grievous strain, so she could trot out of the tent out into the open like she hadn't just arduously climbed a pair of glorified twigs.

Her other team member was waiting outside next to the grate. All three of his heads turned to her as she exited. Now that she looked at him, she wasn't sure if those heads were even attached to the same body. Whatever the rest of him looked like was underground.

"At last!" he said, all mouths speaking in unsettling unison. "Shall we now depart?"

"Yep!" said Fluffy. "You two - or four? - are going to be leading the way! Remember, I'm testing you!"

Sunflora frowned at Fluffy and folded her arms. "Um, shouldn't _you_ be the one leading? Like, _you're_ the leader, after all."

Fluffy gave her a _look._ No way she was going to let this chump out-sass her. "Do you _want_ me to literally lead you around every step of the way like you're a baby? What, can't you read a map?"

Scowling, Sunflora opened the small bag she had slung over her shoulder and dug out a neatly-folded map. "Don't be like that, alright?" She gave a huff. "According to the map, Crystal Cave's between Amp Plains and Treeshroud Forest. It's kinda far."

Fluffy perked up. She may have had no idea how to read a map or where the hell all those little dots were in real life, but those were two places she'd been to already.

"Good for you, Sunflower!" said Fluffy. "That's all you need to do! Come on, team!"

"It's - it's Sunflora!" Sunflora sputtered, but Fluffy chose to ignore her as she started down the stairs. She listened for the sound of footsteps - and that weird sound of crunching dirt Dugtrio caused when he tunneled around - but the footsteps she heard behind her didn't sound like they came from Sunflora. They were far too quick and light and -

"Yahoo!"

Something dropped on Fluffy's back and she bucked instinctively, sending that something flying over her head. When it landed on the stairs in front of her and tumbled down a couple more steps before stopping, Fluffy was relieved to discover it was not some attacker out to ambush her, after all. It was just Lucky, who was now pushing himself to his feet and rubbing his backside with a paw.

"Oh, hey squirt," Fluffy greeted. Lucky gave her an annoyed look.

"Wow, you were supposed to _catch_ me," he whined, "not catapult me into the ground!"

"Hey, you're the one who jumped on me with no warning!" Fluffy smirked at him. "That's what you get for startling me!"

Corphish scuttled up around Fluffy to join Lucky. "Hey hey hey, no more in-fighting!" With a hint of bitterness in his tone, he added, "We've got an unviable forest to get to."

"We're not fighting!" Lucky insisted, already back to looking cheerful. "Fluffy was just being a meanie-pants who wouldn't let me ride her!"

"I'm not a meanie-pants!" Fluffy shot back as Loudred joined the group. "I don't even know what 'pants' is!"

Lucky's eyes flashed with surprise, then he broke into snickering. "Wow, you don't even know about pants? They're these tight tubes you stick your legs into for some reason, then - "

"Shut UP!" yelled Loudred, lifting Lucky by the scruff of his neck. Lucky squirmed about but was unable to free himself from Loudred's grip. "Corphish, let's just GO before this guy slows us DOWN any more!"

Corphish nodded fervently. "Hey hey, sorry about the interruption, Miss Fluffy. We won't bother you anymore!"

Trying to look professional, Fluffy gave a curt nod in response. "No problem."

Internally, she was ecstatic. Some of these kids were actually treating her like a fully-fledged explorer! Hell, Corphish was even giving her the same amount of respect everyone gave Dusknoir! Was this the true meaning of being an explorer? Being unconditionally loved and adored by your inferiors? How thrilling! No wonder Sir Majestic Tail acted so uppity and sure of himself after six years of this kind of treatment.

Behind her, Sunflora cleared her throat. "Actually, I think it's too soon to say you won't keep bothering us."

"Whaddaya mean?" Fluffy asked, glancing back. Sunflora still had the map open in her hands - leaves? - and was looking it over with a pinched expression.

"According to the map," she said slowly, "Eastern Forest is on the way to Crystal Cave."

"WHAT?!" Loudred demanded while Lucky cheered, "Yay! We're gonna be travel buddies!"

"Hey hey hey, that's gotta be wrong!" Corphish scuttled over to Sunflora's side and quickly studied the map. "Come on, it's right over..." His face fell as he trailed off. "You've gotta be kidding, hey hey…"

Lucky, on the other hand, seemed to be thrilled. He finally wiggled his way out of Loudred's grasp and hopped back on Fluffy's back. "This is gonna be great!" he yipped. "Hey Fluffy, you gotta give me a ride the whole way, okay?"

Fluffy was about to threaten to buck him again, but she remembered that she was in the presence of impressionable trainees. What would Sir Majestic Tail do in this situation?

"'Course, kiddo," she responded, "but only since you're injured and all."

He leaned into her wool, sinking into the curls. Fluffy was once again reminded of how light his little body was, even all sprawled out on her back like this. He felt way too fragile for how reckless he always seemed to act.

Sunflora folded her map back up and stowed it away in her bag. "Sooo, guess there's no choice," she said. "But hey, maybe this is a good thing! After all, now I can watch over you boys and make sure you don't kill each other on the way over!"

Loudred and Corphish exchanged annoyed looks. "You're not our MOM, Sunflora," Loudred grumbled, "you can't tell us NOT to KILL each other if that's what we WANT to do!"

"Oh my gosh, can you not?!"

Fluffy would have been entertained to watch the ensuing argument, but that other member of her group with the three heads, whatever his name was, tunnelled up between Loudred and Sunflora and shot reproachful glares at both of them.

"You're holding us up on such an important mission for such a petty reason?" he chided. "You should both be ashamed of yourselves!"

This guy clearly wasn't as young as the rest of the trainees at the guild. He sounded more mature, like a real adult. Fluffy decided to back him up.

"Grovyle could be stealing the Time Gears literally right now and we'd've done nothing to stop him. Is that what you guys want?"

Loudred and Sunflora reluctantly shook their heads, though both kept their eyes averted from one another. Good, that seemed like the right, responsible thing to tell them. They could hold their argument later when the mission and Fluffy's reputation weren't at stake.

Fluffy gave an official-looking nod to that adult pokémon. "Thank you, er…?" She trailed off. What the hell_ was_ his name, again?

"Dugtrio," he filled in for her. "I don't believe we'd been properly introduced."

"Yeah, Dugtrio. Cool. Let's go now."

She turned back towards the stairs and began to trot down them. Fortunately, they were much easier to use than ladders, though every step bounced the riolu on her back.

The others followed behind or beside her in a disorganized clump. Fine by her - it made her feel like she was leading a herd, even if it wasn't as neat and orderly as those lines they'd stood in at the guild.

"Wonder where Dusknoir got off to," she said aloud to no one in particular. He'd vanished from the guild without her noticing, probably doing that creepy ghost-thing where he just went through walls like it was nothing.

"He seemed like he was in an awful hurry to leave, hey hey!" said Corphish. "He must have had some real important business to attend to!"

"More important than catching Grovyle?" Fluffy scoffed. "That guy's got weird priorities, I tell ya."

"Oh my gosh, are you telling me you don't trust him?" Sunflora squealed from the back of the group.

"I'm not telling _you_ specifically," Fluffy retorted with a smirk. A shocked gasp was the only response she got from Sunflora.

"Hey hey, I think that's a little unfair." Corphish sped up a little so he could walk in front of the group as they turned left at the crossroads towards the wilds. "I mean, when you're as knowledgeable and wise as that guy, well, hey hey, I'd expect you'd have a lot of duties to take care of! We're lucky he was able to stay so long to help us!"

Lucky didn't shift from his supine position on Fluffy's back to pipe up, "I'm Lucky, all of y'all aren't! Quit forgetting that!"

"The word LUCKY doesn't BELONG to you!" Loudred snapped.

"It totally does."

"No, it DOESN'T! You're just TRYING to be an ANNOYING piece of - "

"Eek, will you two shut up?!" Sunflora yelled. "Seriously, Loudred, you've got to stop falling for bait! You're worse than a starving feebas!"

Ooh, cold, Fluffy thought. The insult seemed to be enough to quiet Loudred down, and Fluffy made a mental note to sass Sunflora less just for that.

"The point I was _trying_ to make," Corphish continued, "is that we should be grateful to him for being such a big help instead of trying to analyse his every action, hey hey!"

Fluffy chewed her lip. Was it too much to ask to just get _one_ other pokémon on her side? Why couldn't they see what a suspicious individual he was?

Then she remembered Corphish's anger when the teams were announced and the corner of her mouth turned up. "Y'know, Corphish, it's Dusknoir's fault we didn't work off your list to choose our locations."

Corphish turned suddenly, looking aghast. "Hey hey hey, are you serious?"

"He wanted us to 'come to our own conclusion' or whatever. That's why we took so long."

"Come ON, how is that a BAD thing? I wouldn't TRUST some CRAZY THEORIST on that kind of thing, EITHER!"

If only it were possible to somehow electrocute Loudred without hurting Lucky in the process. That guy really needed to keep his freakishly oversized mouth closed at all times.

"Yeah, well…" Fluffy struggled to think of a rebuttal. "He's - he's also the one who suggested Eastern Forest!"

The shocked expression on Corphish's face was the sign Fluffy needed to keep going. "That's right! It was me and Fire - er, Sir Majestic Tail, who brought up Crystal Cave and Northern Desert, but Dusknoir kept insisting on Eastern Forest! Even Sir Majestic Tail, empty-headed as he is, knew that was totally wrong!"

She was talking out of her ass, of course. She hadn't paid enough attention during the meeting to remember who suggested what, but who was going to call her out on that? Sure, Sunflora did look vaguely suspicious and Loudred just seemed to have a perpetually angry expression, but Dugtrio was underground and probably didn't hear a word of it and if Lucky suspected Fluffy was fibbing, he wasn't speaking up.

Corphish, on the other hand, was cycling between looking miserable and pissed. Fluffy could practically see his thought process as he argued with himself about whether to be in denial about the Great Dusknoir's ultimate betrayal or to accept it with a pinch of rage.

Then he opened his mouth and it was clear what his decision was.

"Hey hey hey, I won't stand for this! I gave him the result of my life's research! I trusted him with that! Only for him to completely ignore me! Do you know how many hours I put into that list?!"

"Oh my gosh," Sunflora whispered to Fluffy in horror, "I can't believe you've done this."

"Days spent! Weeks! Years and years, even before I joined the guild!" Corphish paced back and forth in a zig-zag pattern, his little legs scuttling with all the fury of a burst dam. "The Time Gears have been my life's work! My very soul went into those papers, hey hey hey! And that bastard went and took it with a smile! A deceptive, evil, cruel smile! My heart, my passion, discarded like nothing! How could he?!"

It was about an hour into Corphish's rant that Fluffy began to sense this had been a very bad decision. Corphish just kept going on and on about how horribly betrayed he felt and how much time he'd spent thoroughly exploring mystery dungeons across the continent and how important that list had been to him, to the point where he began to claim he'd penned it with the most expensive ink on gold-crusted paper as if the thing hadn't just been a loose sheet of notepaper that he'd hastily scribbled over. At least Corphish now agreed with Fluffy on how suspicious Dusknoir was, but at what cost?

She didn't bother paying attention to the yelling, tuning it out while she thought about Dusknoir herself. What was it about him that ticked her off so much, anyways? Was it the aloofness, the way he seemed to know everything about everything? Was it the fact that he was almost universally adored? Or was it the way Sir Majestic Tail looked at him with that stupid expression of longing? The fact that Fluffy could never hope to compete with Dusknoir and his vast wealth of knowledge and experience?

No, she couldn't think like that. Sir Majestic Tail had nothing to do with this. He was an equally annoying prick who was even _more_ irritatingly self-assured. But Fluffy couldn't ignore the 'and yet' that came after that assertion. He was stupid and frustrating...and yet the thought of impressing him somehow thrilled her. The fact that when he'd asked her if she wanted to live in his base for the time being, she'd felt warm all over. Was that why she hated Dusknoir? Not for any tangible reason that made sense, but just because she couldn't surpass him?

"How far are we from Crystal Cave?"

Dugtrio's voice beside Fluffy made her jump. She'd been so lost in thought, she hadn't seen him pop out of the ground to tunnel aboveground beside her.

"Uh, lemme think…" Fluffy cast her gaze around her current surroundings. She hadn't had to lead the group on account of Corphish's continued speed-scuttling, and she couldn't quite recognize the area they were in now. It was mostly open plains with some forest off to the left and distant mountains to the right.

Unable to place their location, she stuck her muzzle under the flap of her bag and fished out her map. She had to stop walking to set it down and actually take a look at it.

"Mayyyybe we're right here?" She tapped some spot on the map with a hoof.

"That's the ocean."

"Oh."

Fluffy leaned in to really observe the map. There were little markings all over the place, but she had no idea what they were supposed to represent.

"You're looking at it upside-down."

Fluffy cringed. "I - I knew that."

Dugtrio gave her a curious look. "You don't know how to read maps, do you?"

"Sh-shut up!" Fluffy blurted. "Of course I do!"

"There's no shame in that," Dugtrio said. His voice was rough, but oddly soft. "We only joined the guild a few years ago, and our map-reading abilities were quite limited before that."

"Yeah?" Fluffy was a little surprised at that. "I thought, y'know, only kids joined the guild. I thought the whole thing was, like. For kids."

"Not at all. Not everyone has the privilege of joining a guild from a young age. We joined the Wigglytuff Guild at the same time that our son did, and since then, we have learned much."

Feeling slightly less embarrassed now, Fluffy pushed the map over to Dugtrio. "You wanna take a crack at reading this thing, then?"

He went underground and popped up at the other side of the map. After observing it for a few moments, he said, "It would appear we're halfway there."

"Already, huh?" Fluffy stuffed the map back into her bag. "Looks like riling up Corphish was the key to speeding the whole group up."

"So it would seem." Dugtrio looked in the direction of Corphish, Loudred, and Sunflora, all of whom had continued ahead without them. "Let us hurry and rejoin them."

He vanished back underground and Fluffy ran back towards the group. It appeared that Corphish was beginning to lose steam and he was now sobbing, pincers held over his face. Sunflora was trying to console him, stroking his back gently as they walked, while Loudred was watching the affair with an expression like he'd just taken an accidental whiff of donphan shit.

Finally, just as the sun was beginning to cast orange rays across the sky, the two teams arrived at the entrance to a mixed forest. Behind the tips of the trees, Fluffy could see some blue-ish rocky hills in the distance. She guessed Crystal Cave must be out that way.

"Hey hey, good luck on your search," Corphish said, still sniffling a little. "Dusknoir may have doomed us to fail, but maybe you guys will find something, hey hey."

"GODS, you're SUCH a pessimist," Loudred groaned. "Anyways, good luck, you three. Don't get TOO distracted by the pretty GEMS."

He shot Fluffy an accusatory look as he said that and she recoiled. "What, you think I'm immature enough to spend the whole time sight-seeing?" she shot back. "We have an important mission to do and I'm not about to mess it up!"

"Even if you don't find anything," Sunflora began before Loudred could get into a yelling match with Fluffy, "I wish you guys the best of fortune on your search, too."

"Finally," said a voice from Fluffy's back, "_someone's_ not misappropriating my name!"

Fluffy jumped at the sound of the voice. She'd completely forgotten Lucky had been riding her back the whole way. "Your name isn't 'Luck', you silly thing!"

"Close enough," Lucky replied, hopping off. He stumbled a little when his feet hit the ground and Fluffy frowned. It looked like he was still hurt from his fall earlier.

"Oh my gosh, don't tell me you fell asleep on Fluffy's back!" Sunflora said, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Sure did!" Lucky grinned in Corphish's direction. "Nothing puts me to sleep like the sound of screaming!"

Fluffy couldn't help but smirk at that. "You're a real weird kid, y'know that? Don't get up to too much trouble in there. You're not gonna have a responsible adult watching over you this time!"

Lucky faked a shocked expression. "Are you calling yourself a responsible adult?"

Unconsciously, Fluffy stood a little taller. "You sayin' I'm not?" she challenged.

"Nah, it's just…" Lucky trailed off, looking over the members of her group. "Hmm."

"You got something to say?" Fluffy was already turning away from him to face the distant blue hills. "We gotta get going before it gets too late for us to find our way there."

"Hey hey hey, we should start, too," Corphish added. "The sooner we drag ourselves through this waste of time, the sooner we can go home, hey hey!"

Lucky looked from Fluffy to Corphish, a conflicted expression on his face. Then he cracked a grin and trotted over to Corphish. "Alright, see ya later, guys! Gooooood luck!"

"Oh, SURE," Loudred said, "when YOU say it, it's FINE!"

As Corphish's team walked towards the forest, already arguing again, Fluffy led Sunflora and Dugtrio in the direction of the hills. She was worried they wouldn't be able to find the entrance in the growing darkness, but as soon as they came within viewing distance of the quarry, they were greeted by a huge, dark hole in the largest rocky hill. Fluffy approached it carefully, as if nervous it would bite her if she got too close.

"So, like, what're you waiting for?" Sunflora asked, arms crossed. "We're going in, right?"

"Of course!" Fluffy responded. "I'm just, uh, checking to see if it's safe."

Cool air from below brushed her face as she got near to the entrance. Small crystals speckled the maw like tiny teeth. The gap itself was pitch-black; not even the slanted light of the sun could illuminate it.

"Here we go," she said softly, sucking in a breath, then stepped inside. As she did so, she directed electricity through her tail to the round orb at its tip. Her tail lit up with a brilliant orange glow and cast light over the chamber. Sunflora made an impressed, "Oooooh!" sound, and though Fluffy wanted to believe she was talking about her tail, it was much more likely she was looking at the room itself. And Fluffy didn't blame her.

The silvery-blue walls glimmered like pale fire, reflecting geometrically-shaped flecks of light everywhere. Crystals of varying shapes and sizes sprouted up from the ground, tiny glimmering spears with wickedly sharp edges. It was unlike anything Fluffy had ever seen. She was transfixed, mesmerized by the way the crystals seemed to change colour as she moved her glowing tail around.

The spell was broken when Fluffy was suddenly attacked by a barrage of rocks launched at her from a darkened corner of the room. She whirled on her aggressor only to spot a strange pokémon that looked like it was made of boulders. It even had several crystals growing on its own body. It expelled another flurry of rocks at her from its hands, but this time Fluffy was able to dodge the attack. She tried to retaliate by blasting it with electricity, to no apparent effect. The damn thing was immune.

"Let me handle this one!" Sunflora said and dashed between Fluffy and the pokémon with surprising speed. Vines suddenly burst from the ground and ensnared the pokémon's rocky body as Sunflora shot an attack of razor-sharp leaves at it. The critical hit resulted in the pokémon fainted instantly.

Fluffy blinked in surprise. Sunflora was pretty damn powerful.

"Are you okay, Fluffy?" Sunflora asked, looking back at her. Fluffy just nodded. "That was a graveler, y'know."

"Obviously I know!" Fluffy insisted. "I was just, uh, taken by surprise. It popped right outta nowhere!"

Sunflora frowned for a moment, but her expression quickly returned back to neutral. "Okay, but like, we'd better be more careful. It'd be lousy if we fainted all the way out here."

"I know that," Fluffy mumbled. She glanced back at Dugtrio, who looked at her sternly. Did he know? Could he tell that Fluffy wasn't the fully-fledged explorer she claimed to be?

Cautiously, Fluffy continued to lead the team through Crystal Cave, tail held high to light the way. Sunflora and Dugtrio mostly took care of the feral pokémon - they were well-suited to fighting them, unlike Fluffy, whose attacks barely seemed to affect any. She found herself growing more and more frustrated as she gradually became relegated to the sole job of torch-bearer while the other two fought all her battles for her. Even the sparkling gems seemed to lose their lustre.

There was also that constant annoying feeling of being followed by some unseen pokémon. Fluffy kept stopping to glare back suspiciously, but unlike her herd back in Amp Plains, apparently these feral pokémon were smart enough not to show themselves right away. This had the unfortunate effect of making Fluffy feel like prey being stalked by a predator.

"How long have we been walking?" she asked out of irritation after quite some time had passed. "It's gotta be morning by now out there!"

Sunflora, who had paused in front of a large, mirror-like crystal to adjust her petals, didn't bother looking away from her reflection to say, "It's only been, like, an hour. I wouldn't be surprised if the stars weren't even all out yet."

That feeling of being watched grew stronger and Fluffy looked around the room nervously. She bet it was another one of those 'beldums'. Those floating pieces of tin were a pain for even Sunflora to knock out and they could hover out of reach of all of Dugtrio's attacks, and they were bloody _everywhere_.

"There's always an end point in mystery dungeons, right?" Fluffy asked. "Y'know, the place where all the spacetime shit isn't all messed up? That's where the Time Gear would be if it's even here, right?"

Sunflora was quiet for a moment, gaze still on the crystal, then she turned around with an exasperated sigh. "Oh my gosh, I can't take it anymore! You're so hecking obvious!"

"Wh-what?" Fluffy took a step back, eyes wide. "What's obvious? I'm not obvious!"

"I know you're not a real explorer!"

The accusation echoed through the chamber. Sunflora suddenly seemed to realize what she'd said and clapped her hands over her mouth.

Fluffy stared back at her, horrified. She knew? Fluffy whipped her head at Dugtrio, who looked sympathetic. They _both_ knew?! How obvious had she been about it?

"I - I… You're wrong!" Fluffy splayed her legs in a wide, defensive stance, glaring at them with wild eyes. "I _am_ a real explorer! Y-you guys are just apprentices, but I'm - I'm - !"

"Omigosh, I'm sorry," Sunflora began, "I didn't mean it like - "

It was at that precise moment that the ground began to shake violently. Fluffy was thrown off her hooves and collided with a wall while Dugtrio quickly escaped underground. Crystals and chunks of rock rained down from the ceiling and Fluffy could hear Sunflora shrieking.

Over the din of rock cracking and crystals shattering around them, Fluffy started to become aware of heavy, pounding footsteps slowly approaching her. She tried to rise to her hooves, but she couldn't keep her balance long enough to stand. Something lumbered into sensing proximity, and when she looked up it was to see a pokémon more than twice her height looming right in front of her. It looked like a gigantic boulder with stubby arms and legs. She guessed it must be the evolved form of graveler. What a joy.

The feral raised a thick leg and brought it down towards Fluffy, but before the blow could connect a swathe of vines broke the ground between them and wrapped around the pokémon's body, dragging it backwards. The earthquake finally ceased and Fluffy hopped up onto her feet and scurried out of the way. She spotted Sunflora across the room, face contorted with the effort of holding back the pokémon, as well as...something else. She looked like she was in pain.

That was when Fluffy caught a whiff of something that smelled absolutely delicious, like juicy, freshly-cut grass. But there hadn't even been the faintest trace of foliage in this cave system at all, so where could that wonderful scent be coming from?

She quickly decided it was best to investigate the smell _after _the giant rock monster was taken care of. Lowering her head, she dashed at the pokémon and rammed it hard with an electrically-charged headbutt. The impact vibrated through her horns like ripples on a pond and she staggered backwards, but the attack seemed to have actually done some damage to the feral. It, too, was shell-shocked from the hit, momentarily paralyzed. Encouraged by the moderate success, Fluffy unloaded a blast of electricity at it.

While that attack didn't seem to do an awful lot, the leaf barrage that followed up after that did. The feral roared in fury, finally tearing free of the vines that held it in place, only for a huge chunk of ceiling to suddenly cave in directly over its head. Fluffy hopped back out of the radius of the cave-in to avoid being crushed by rocks, then carefully approached the pokémon to see if it had really been defeated. Satisfied that it didn't appear to be conscious, Fluffy trotted over to Sunflora's side. The grass-type was breathing heavily and clutching at her leg.

"You alright?" Fluffy asked. Her eyes trailed down Sunflora's leg until she spotted the source of Sunflora's anguish - a large shard of crystal embedded in her root-like foot.

"Here, lemme get that…" Fluffy lowered her head and gripped the shard in her teeth, then yanked it out of Sunflora's foot, causing her to shriek in pain again. Then the grassy scent hit Fluffy full-on. Holy shit, what was that amazing smell?

"Th-thanks," Sunflora stammered, bracing herself against the wall to raise her injured foot to inspect it. Instead of blood, a greenish sap seemed to ooze from it.

Oh hell no, Fluffy thought, staring at the sap. Hell fucking _no_.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't expect that huge gem to just shatter like that!" Sunflora squeaked. "That golem showed up so suddenly! Are you okay?"

Fluffy continued to stare blankly at Sunflora's injury. Sunflora seemed to notice her staring and let out an uncomfortable laugh.

"Oh, this? Don't you worry, it's just a little cut! I'll be okay! It just needs an oran berry to heal!" She began to go through her bag, then frowned. "Oh gosh, it looks like I'm out of them. Do you have any?"

Fluffy shook her head out to break from the trance, then quickly poked around in her bag. There was nothing edible in there at all, let alone the oran berry that Sunflora needed. "Shit, sorry. I don't have any, either."

Sunflora now looked concerned. "Yikes, this isn't good. Dugtrio doesn't have a bag, and this dirt's way too poor for me to regenerate by putting down roots…"

Fluffy suddenly got a terrible idea. It was awful, and she hated herself for even thinking about it, but it was the only solution she could imagine.

"Hey, Sunflora," she began, "I've got an idea, but it'll be really weird."

"Weird?" Sunflora asked, turning her head.

Fluffy quickly looked around the room. The golem was still knocked out and Dugtrio was nowhere in sight. If they were going to do this, it would have to be quick.

"Yeah, it's real weird and kind of fucked up, but if you let me do this, I'll forgive you for saying I'm not a real explorer."

Sunflora gave her a suspicious look. "What do you mean…?"

"...Have you ever heard the expression, 'Lick your wounds'?"

* * *

One mentally scarring minute later, Fluffy and Sunflora stood rigidly to wait for Dugtrio to make his reappearance. The scent was gone from the air, Sunflora's wound had mostly closed up, and Fluffy's curiosity was satisfied. Now the only pain either of them felt was the knowledge of what had just transpired.

"...You speak of this to no one," Sunflora said tersely.

"Not a fuckin' soul," Fluffy replied, equally clipped.

More silence stretched out. Where the hell did Dugtrio go, anyways? Why was he taking so long to come back and break up this awkwardness?

Finally, Dugtrio's three heads popped up in front of them. "Are you two done doing unmentionable things?" he asked.

"Shut up!" both Fluffy and Sunflora yelled in unison.

Dugtrio ignored that and went on, "We took the liberty of going on ahead while you were occupied and we believe we've found the deepest point. Of course, there is little point in attempting to guide you directly to it, for the walls will shift and change the path to the end, but rest assured we're nearly there."

Fluffy sighed. "Good grief, finally."

Another golem chose to make an entrance in the room.

"Are you shitting - "

"Focus Blast!"

The room lit up as a bright ball of blue light burst from a connecting tunnel and collided directly with the golem. The force of the impact flung it into the other fainted golem where it collapsed, making an untidy golem heap.

Fluffy stared at the downed feral, trying to puzzle out what had just happened. A one-hit knockout? But who…?

"Ta-da!"

From the tunnel the light had come from emerged a riolu. Lucky ran over to the golem and put a foot on it, posing triumphantly.

"You!" Fluffy pointed an accusatory hoof at Lucky. "But you're supposed to be with - "

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lucky interrupted, waving a paw. "But I totally ditched those guys. They're so _laaaaame_! All they do is argue and whine!"

"Oh my gosh!" Sunflora exclaimed, marching right up to him with her hands on her hips. "You can't just abandon your team like that! What will Chatot think?!"

"Whatever!" Lucky grinned and ran around Sunflora to Fluffy. "C'mon! We've gotta go ahead! We're almost at the end!" Without waiting for a reply, he charged off down another tunnel.

"Seriously?!" Fluffy snapped, but she had no choice but to run after him. Who knew how he even got this far without a light source, but she wasn't about to abandon him in the dark of the cave now.

"Wait up, Fluffy!" Sunflora called behind her. "Eek, slow down! I can't run that fast!"

Slowing down was impossible. Fluffy was just barely keeping up with Lucky as it was. The little bastard wasn't even battling wild pokémon that got in his way, instead opting to shove them aside and run past. Fluffy ran by a donphan that looked as confused as she felt.

Eventually, Lucky came to a stop inside a larger, more open chamber. Fluffy skidded to a halt next to him, panting hard.

"You - stupid - mutt - " she gasped out, dropping to her knees.

"Aw, you're too kind," he responded, winking.

Dugtrio popped up on Fluffy's other side and shortly after, Sunflora ran in as well.

"Oh my gosh, you've got to slow down for people! How'd a little thing like you get so fast, anyways?!"

"It's called aerodynamics," Lucky said. "I'm fast because I'm small!"

"That's bullshit," Fluffy told him.

Now that she'd had a moment to catch her breath, she got back on her hooves and took in her surroundings. This chamber was brighter than the rest of the cave system, illuminated by three absolutely massive crystals arranged in a triangular pattern along the edges of the room. Each shone a different colour - one red, one magenta, and one green. As a result, the rest of the smaller crystals dotted around the walls were particularly rainbowy-looking. Fluffy dimmed her tail, sensing it was no longer needed.

"Oh my gosh, would you look at those crystals!" Sunflora said, walking up to one slowly. When she reached out a hand to touch it, however, the crystal suddenly changed colour from red to orange. Sunflora gasped and jumped back. "Eek, it changed colour!"

"Wowwww, cool!" Lucky immediately ran up to another crystal and began papping it repeatedly, cycling it through the colours of the rainbow. "They change color every time you touch them!"

"Let's be a little more cautious," Dugtrio suggested, but his words went unacknowledged as Fluffy promptly went to the third crystal to test it out for herself. It felt slightly warm beneath her touch as she poked it with her knee.

"This is cool as all hell," Fluffy said, "but what's the point? This is the end of Crystal Cave, isn't it?"

Sunflora's awestruck expression faded and she frowned, gazing about the room. "It doesn't look like there's any passage that could take us further," she agreed. "And I don't see the Time Gear around here anywhere."

"Aww, so that means there aren't any Time Gears here, either?" Lucky whined. He kicked his crystal then recoiled, apparently having once again forgotten about his ankle. "This sucks! What was the point of following you if this place is a dud?"

Sunflora turned on him and crossed her arms. "How long had you been following us? I thought I saw you going into Eastern Forest with Corphish and Loudred!"

"Wow, you need to get your eyes checked." Lucky stuck out his tongue playfully. "I didn't go in at all! The moment you guys all turned your backs, I started following you!"

That would explain the feeling Fluffy had had of being watched. There was one mystery solved.

"And you really came all this way," Fluffy asked, "tailing us the whole time, _just_ because you thought Loudred and Corphish were annoying?"

Lucky grinned. "Yep!"

"Well…" Fluffy grinned back at him. "I honestly can't blame ya."

"This is absurd," Dugtrio said sternly. "You were trusted to be on Corphish's team, and you not only let them down, but put yourself in potential danger by traversing this place unaided."

"Pssh, the ferals around here are way weak!" Lucky insisted. "I was fine!"

Fluffy frowned, unable to argue with him. He was small, but he _had_ taken down an entire golem in one hit. Once again, she got the strange sense that he wasn't as young as he claimed to be. How could a little kid defeat a pokémon five times their size?

"But it looks like I wasted my time, anyways!" Lucky kicked a loose bit of gravel, pouting. "There's nothing here but a bunch of dumb crystals! This was so boooooring!"

Fluffy looked back at the three crystals. It was strange, but she got the feeling there was something more to them. She poked her crystal again, turning it a pretty shade of blue.

"Y'think there might be some kind of trick to these things?" she asked. "Like, you tap them the right number of times and the Time Gear suddenly pops up?"

"Ooh, you might be right!" Sunflora agreed. "We should try it out!"

"That sounds dumb," Lucky said. "Like the kind of thing a feral would think of."

Fluffy bristled, anger bubbling up inside her, but Sunflora spoke up, "Oh my gosh, that's so rude! Just because Fluffy was once a feral, doesn't mean she still is!"

She met eyes with Fluffy, and there was a brief moment where both flushed with shame, but then she continued, "Like, she might not be an experienced explorer yet, but she's trying her hardest! And she's doing a really good job, too! So keep your incorrect opinions to yourself!"

Lucky giggled and leaned against his crystal. "I'm glad you guys are friends now! I thought Fluffy would never make friends with a tasty tasty grass-type!"

That embarrassed flush came back. Fluffy sincerely hoped he was just referring to her comment earlier that day and not admitting that he'd also seen..._that _take place.

Sunflora cleared her throat. "A-anyways, why don't we try making all these crystals the same colour as the Time Gears? Maybe that will make it appear!"

"Sure!" said Fluffy, glad the subject had been changed. "What colour are those?"

"Hmm." Sunflora put a hand to her chin, thinking. "When we saw one at Fogbound Lake, it was glowing green, but I'm not sure if the Time Gear was actually that colour."

"We think it may have been blue," Dugtrio added.

"It's green!" Lucky yelled, a little too loudly. Everyone turned to look at him, and he shrank back sheepishly. "Uh, I remember Corphish saying they were green. And don't we all trust our dear not-annoying-at-all friend Corphish?"

Sunflora looked doubtful, but she nodded. "If anyone knows what the Time Gears actually look like, it's Corphish. Let's try turning the crystals green."

Fluffy, Sunflora, and Lucky each tapped their crystals until all three glowed vibrant green. Fluffy stepped back, expecting something crazy to happen, but nothing changed.

"Aw, man, it didn't work!" Lucky crossed his arms, then gave his crystal another annoyed kick, only to hop back once again with a pained look on his face.

"Stop kicking things!" Sunflora admonished. Visibly disappointed, she sighed and said, "Welp, I guess that's it. We'll have to report back with the bad news."

Fluffy didn't want to leave without having tried all the possible combinations with these crystals, but she was tired and her stomach was empty. As much as it would have been nice to find a Time Gear, she kind of just wanted to go home. Maybe Sir Majestic Tail had been more lucky on his Time Gear search and he could tell some overblown, dramatic story about how he'd valiantly marched through the desert, sullying his flawless coat, and bravely fought Grovyle over possession of the Time Gear. Fluffy could already feel a grin tugging at the corner of her mouth just imagining it.

"This is truly disappointing," Dugtrio said, "but it cannot be helped. Let us return to the dungeon's entrance and make for home." With that, he vanished beneath the ground again.

"Why doesn't he just teleport out like a normal person?" Fluffy muttered, already digging through her bag for her explorer badge. Sunflora shrugged at her.

"If you could tunnel under the ground, wouldn't you want to show off?"

Fluffy considered it. "I'd want to act like I couldn't and never tell anyone about it."

Sunflora waited for the punchline. Fluffy just looked at her, eyebrow raised.

"That's it."

"Oh."

"You two should just kiss already!" Lucky yelled.

Sunflora blanched and immediately teleported out of the dungeon. Fluffy looked back at Lucky with an incredulous expression.

"Really, Lucky?"

He grinned, eyes half-closed. "I'd ship it." Before Fluffy could ask what the hell that meant, he added, "By the way, I totally saw you guys."

"You - you what?!"

Lucky's grin grew sinister. "Have fun trying to keep your dirty deed under wraps. I saw _everything_."

And here Corphish thought _Dusknoir_ was evil. Fluffy was going to strangle this kid the next chance she got.

Actually, she realized as she teleported out of Crystal Cave, that would have been the perfect opportunity to strangle him. Next time, she vowed, he wouldn't be so lucky.

Or maybe he would be.

* * *

**I have a vague idea of how to handle this, but I'm not sure I'll have the mental energy to pull it off. It was a struggle just to get this chapter up, and the prospect of what I'd have to do is kind of daunting. But to hell with it, I'm the author. I can do anything I want. See you in two weeks, unless exams chew me up and spit me out into a crunched-up mess.**


	20. Chapter 19: Cyndaquil

**Alright, folks, I've got a plan. I'm a man with a plan! This whole operation is kind of teetering on the edge of the rails, but it's still chugging along on its intended course. I've already begun work on what I'm sure is gonna end up being a total behemoth of a chapter, so sorry in advance! Granted, I've still got university to deal with, and finding time to write is nigh-impossible. Expect a little break of about a month or so while I get this monster together.**

**For now, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The soft tinkling of chimes gently roused Flame from a nightmare of drowning in sand and she sat up in her bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Morning sun filtered through the window, bathing the bedroom in a rosy glow.

"Good morning, Flame." Chimecho floated in the doorway, flicking her long tail back and forth to produce the ringing noise. "You too, Julia."

A groan sounded from the other bed as Julia slowly pushed herself to her feet and stretched her arms out behind her head. "Mornin', Chimecho," she mumbled around a yawn.

"Where's Loudred?" Flame asked, blinking sleepily. "Isn't he supposed to be waking up the guild?"

Chimecho smiled and shook her head. "He's not yet awake," she said. "Everyone is worn out from the mission last night."

"No kiddin'," Julia said. "I was driftin' off on the ride back, myself."

"You two were fortunate enough to be paired with Sir Majestic Tail. I would imagine the walk back must have been long and tiring for the others."

Flame nodded vacantly, straining to think back to last night. After the Northern Desert exploration, they'd arrived so late she hadn't even bothered to finish dinner before wandering off to bed. Had she even remembered to report the results of their trip to Chatot?

Chimecho seemed to read her mind. "Sir Majestic Tail gave Chatot the full report, don't you worry." She frowned slightly. "We're to go over the details of each expedition at the morning address, but from what I've heard, none of the teams managed to find a Time Gear."

"Oh." Flame's face fell. That was beyond disappointing. After all those pokémon - including the Great Dusknoir! - had worked so hard to come up with possible locations, everyone had failed. If a team of great explorers couldn't come up with a plan to find the Time Gears, who could?

"Shit," Julia grumbled. "That mean we gotta go out to another round of dungeons?"

Chimecho shrugged. "Who knows? You two had better get to the crew room and await the morning address. I still need to wake the rest of the guild."

"Thanks, Chimecho," Flame said as Chimecho floated off to the next room. She glanced back at Julia, who was busy fastening her bandana around her neck. The poor scrap of violet fabric had gotten quite the beating the other day from the sandstorm, which had frayed the edges even further and slightly dulled its persistent odour. Julia pulled on her bag, neatly tucking the strap under the bandana, then looked at Flame.

"You gettin' ready?"

"Uh, yep!" Flame hastily put on her own bag, nearly spilling its contents in the process. She peeked inside just to make sure everything was present and accounted for - with the goons at this guild, she could never be too careful - and began to head towards the hallway.

"Hey, Flame," Julia said, "why don't you leave that rock behind?"

Flame paused. "You mean, my relic fragment?"

"If it's so precious to you, why do you take it with you everywhere? Wouldn't it be safer to leave it at the guild?"

Flame set a paw on her bag, almost defensively, and smiled slightly. "I appreciate it, but I like to bring it with me. That way, whenever I'm feeling discouraged, I can look at it and remember what I'm persevering for." She looked back at Julia again and gave an embarrassed laugh. "It's kind of silly, but I feel like just having it with me keeps me motivated."

Julia just nodded, staring at the bag impassively. Flame's mind flashed back to that time Team Skull had jumped her in Beach Cave and a thought came to her.

"Hey, back then...is that why you didn't take my relic fragment? Because you knew it was important to me?"

That question seemed to jolt Julia and she quickly turned her head away. "Come on, we'll be late for the address," she said, marching past Flame and into the hallway. As she passed by, however, Flame swore she could see a faint touch of red on her cheeks.

The guild was slow to assemble in the crew room. Dusknoir was already present, floating by the front of the room next to Chatot and Wigglytuff. He gave a nod of acknowledgement to Flame and Julia as they walked in before turning his attention back to the conversation the two leaders of the guild were having. Chatot sounded worried, his hushed squawks clipped and his eyes narrowed, but Wigglytuff looked much more relaxed. Still, the guildmaster's voice was more firm than usual, which Flame took as a relief. Even the carefree Wigglytuff had to take this kind of situation seriously.

Eventually, when the last few guild members had made their way into the room and formed their three neat lines, Chatot turned his attention to the trainees and cleared his throat.

"Now, then, as some of you may already be aware, all three explorations yesterday were...fruitless." He fluttered his wings in a visual display of frustration. "Nevertheless! I would like to hear your full reports this morning so we may form a new plan of action. Flame, Julia, your team leader already provided most of the details of your mission last night, but I would like to hear it in your own words, in front of the rest of the guild."

Flame swallowed and glanced nervously at Julia. Did they really have to detail their failure in front of everyone?

Julia, who didn't look like she shared in Flame's apprehension, easily began to speak in a loud and clear voice. "We searched the entirety of Northern Desert. There was a helluva lot of sand, but no sign of a Time Gear." She hesitated slightly before adding, "We had to stop when we came to an area full of quicksand. It was too dangerous to continue."

Her brows furrowed and she looked almost as if she wanted to say more, but she kept silent. Chatot nodded and gave a sigh.

"Yes, that's precisely what Sir Majestic Tail told me. Very good, thank you for the report. Now, Corphish, will you please give the details of your search?"

"Hey hey hey, it was just as I said!" Corphish snapped, glaring daggers at Dusknoir. "The whole thing was a bust! No Time Gear, no nothing! Do you hear that?! I was right and you were wrong, hey hey!"

The way he was glaring at Dusknoir as he shouted made it look as if he was accusing Dusknoir personally for some reason. What was Corphish's problem, anyways? It wasn't like Dusknoir had set him up to fail.

"Not only that!" Corphish went on, now whirling to look at Lucky. "_Somebody_ decided to run off on us before the mission even started! We thought you got lost in the woods and spent hours looking for you, too! What have you got to say for yourself, hey hey?!"

Lucky, looking shocked at the accusation, placed a paw on his chest. "Me, run off on you? I would never! Wow, how could you even say something like that?"

Beside him, Perry rolled his eyes and muttered a soft, "Geez."

"Don't LIE!" Loudred yelled right in Lucky's face. "Just ADMIT you DITCHED us!"

The corners of Lucky's mouth turned up in a catlike grin. "Wow, so rude. Such accuse. I just got lost, that's all! I got sooooo lost I ended up all the way in Crystal Cave! You should have done a better job looking after me, team leader!"

Corphish began to sputter in rage, but Chatot quickly interrupted in a loud squawk, "That's quite enough! I asked you only for details of your mission, not to start another petty squabble!" He sighed, rubbing at his temples with his wings. "Alright, Sunflora, would you please give a report on your exploration? And do try to make it brief."

"Understood!" Sunflora gave a quick glance back at Lucky, then said, "The whole cave was absolutely gorgeous with all the crystals everywhere, and we didn't run into any problems…" At this point she blushed, turning her gaze down. "But, like, we ended up hitting a dead end. And yes, Lucky did join us partway through. We looked after him to make sure he didn't cause any trouble."

"Man," Flame whispered to Julia, "I'm surprised that guy was even allowed to go on the mission. It wouldn't have shocked me if he'd popped up out of the sand at some point just to mess with us!"

"Don't be so sure about that," Julia murmured back, giving an almost-imperceptible shudder.

Chatot didn't look surprised by the turn of events, either, though he gave Lucky a reproachful look. "I'm very disappointed in you, Lucky! I thought you would have been more well-behaved than this!"

"Why would you _ever_ think that?" Lucky responded, giving a snicker. "But it's not like I didn't do anything useful out there!" He opened up his rucksack and procured a small, glittering blue gem from it. "Ta-da! Isn't it pretty?"

"Oh my gosh," Sunflora said, "you took a crystal?!"

"Yep!"

Bidoof took a step towards Lucky to better view the gem. "Golly, that _is_ pretty! You, er, didn't happen to take two, did you?"

Lucky papped his head. "Nope! But maybe, if you ask me reeeeal nice, I'll let you hold it!"

"Gosh, wish I coulda gone there myself. It sounds like Crystal Cave was mighty pretty!"

"A-_hem_!"

All eyes were back on Chatot. He looked from Dusknoir to the guild members, then said, "Seeing as our planning resulted in failure, Wigglytuff and I shall be conferring with Dusknoir again today to discuss a new plan of action." His body sagged with defeat. "In the mean time, I would like all of you to continue the search for the Time Gears on your own. Please report any findings back to the guild immediately. We may not have much time left to stop Grovyle!"

The room was tense. Everyone could sense the urgency of the situation, even without Chatot's warning. When the trainees filed up the ladder to head out, they spoke only in concerned murmurs.

Flame watched Dusknoir follow Chatot and Wigglytuff into the office, then looked back at Julia. She swallowed hard before she spoke.

"So...you're really sure you want to do this?"

Julia made a face. "I really _don't_ want to do this, if I'm gonna be honest. But I need to be certain."

Flame shook her head. "If you say so."

The two left the guild and began the trek back to Northern Desert. The sky was suitably gloomy, as if it was sympathizing with Julia's plight. As they walked in silence, Flame thought about the conversation that had spawned this idea.

It had been last night, right after Sir Majestic Tail teleported out of the end of the dungeon. Flame had been about to follow suit when she'd noticed the pensive stare Julia was wearing. And when she'd asked what was wrong, Julia had given her a strange answer.

"I know this sounds crazy...but I'm certain I've been here before."

Flame watched Julia's tail swinging idly from side to side as she walked ahead of her. There was no denying that Julia was weird. After all, she claimed to have been a human that was turned into a pokémon, and she had unexplainable visions, and could sense things that weren't right with the world. It felt almost like she was on some crazy journey that Flame was barely an accessory to.

If only Flame could tell what Julia was actually thinking. What if she wasn't telling Flame the full story? What if there was some other insane explanation to why all these things were happening to her, like what if she was a mew in disguise? Or actually an alien from outer space?

Or, said a quiet voice in Flame's head, what if she's out of her mind?

Flame quickly silenced that voice. Julia was perfectly sane! A bit of an oddball, sure, and she _did_ possess some odd powers, but maybe that was just because she used to be a human. Humans _were_ rumoured to have powers beyond imagination, after all. All of this was surely part of the package deal. Plus, it had to be hard for Julia, too. She couldn't even remember her own past.

Flame continued the internal debate all the way to the desert. She had somehow gotten onto the topic of surfing and whether Julia would be any good at it when her feet touched warm sand. She blinked and looked up in surprise.

"Wow, I didn't realize we were here already. I guess I must've been really deep in thought not to notice."

Julia shot a half-grin at her. "Funny, I was daydreaming, too. Just, y'know, thinkin' about stuff."

"Yeah."

They entered the desert once again, though they were lucky enough not to get caught in a sandstorm this time. As before, the feral pokémon resisted Julia's attacks, making it necessary for Flame to battle for both of them. In daylight and sand-free air, the dungeon was far less precarious to journey through, and before she knew it, Flame had stepped out of the sandstone labyrinth to find herself facing the massive quicksand patch.

"It looks even scarier in daytime," she said, shivering. All that sand, slowly but steadily flowing downwards into the centre of the pit, was a disconcerting thing to behold. "Good thing you saw it last time, or Sir Majestic Tail would've gotten sucked in for sure!"

Julia nodded vacantly, moving towards the pit and pausing far too close to the edge for Flame's comfort. She crouched down next to it, squinting accusingly at the sand.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Flame asked uncertainly. "It's not safe to be that close!"

"...It's the only way."

"Come again?"

Julia stood back up and walked back over to Flame. There was a resolute look in her eyes.

"We have to jump into the quicksand."

"What?!" Flame yelped, sharply recoiling. "Jump in? Are you crazy?!"

One of Julia's ears flopped over and she averted her gaze. "You know, I talked with Dusknoir about my, uh, ability the other day. He'd actually heard of it before - apparently it's called the 'Dimensional Scream'."

"That sounds...intense."

"Heh, yeah. Thing is, I don't think he knew everything about it." Julia met Flame's eyes again, and Flame found herself unable to look away from that intimidating gaze. "He said it just lets me see the past or the future when I touch something, but I've been dealing with...other effects. I've seen some things that I can't explain, and I'm starting to think they're somehow part of this ability."

"What...kinds of things?"

"I didn't see these pits last night - " Julia's eyes narrowed, lashes shadowing the upper halves of her eyes, and Flame suddenly felt rather hot under the collar. " - but I _did_ see Lucky die."

Now Flame went completely cold. What was she supposed to say to something like that? All she could do was make a strangled little 'Ah' sound.

"Okay, lemme try to explain this." Julia spoke quickly, gesticulating with her arms for emphasis. "I remember us walking out here, then suddenly Lucky appears right the fuck outta nowhere and tells Sir Ponyta to stop 'cuz there's quicksand ahead, and 'cuz I was already getting that feeling like I'd been 'ere before I just kept walking right up to the edge of the pit, and that was when Lucky jumps at me an' pushes me out of the way, and then 'e falls into the sand and gets all swallowed up, right?

"But then we were all of a sudden back to the point before Lucky showed up like deja vu or somethin', 'xcept 'e wasn't here this time around so I yelled at Fire-Horse to stop an' that's how I knew the pits were there. It was almos' like - like seein' some other reality where he followed _us _'stead of the Crystal Cave group, 'cuz I'm sure as hell that ain't gonna happen again in the future and it sure wasn' the fuckin' past, y'know?"

By the time Julia was done, she was breathing hard, shoulders heaving. Flame stared back at her, slowly trying to process what she'd just heard.

"You, uh. Stopped enunciating partway through."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever. 'S long as you understood me, it's fine." She sighed, running a paw through the fur between her ears. "God, you must think I'm out to fucking lunch."

"N-no, that's not it," Flame said hastily, "just give me - give me a moment to think about it."

Great, just what Flame needed. Just when she'd thought Julia was already decked out with powers and weird quirks, she gained another one. Maybe that 'mew in disguise' theory wasn't so far-fetched after all.

"It's...hard to believe," Flame admitted. "But it's also something that'd be really hard to make up. Besides, if Dusknoir knows about your power, that must mean it's something that other people have, too, right?"

"But this…" Julia looked exasperated. "...this is something different. Instead of seeing the past or future, it's something else entirely. And I think I've had this happen a few other times, too." She chuckled humorlessly, looking off to the side. "It'd explain the memory problems…"

"Then what does it mean? You saw a vision of Lucky dying in the sand. Doesn't that mean it's just as dangerous as we think it is?"

Julia frowned, rolling the edge of her bandana between her fingers. "Well, I _thought_ I saw him die, but what if that's not the case? There's a reason I saw that...vision. And there's this feeling like I've been here before…" She looked back at the pit with an expression almost like longing. "And I'm just, I dunno, drawn to the quicksand. I keep getting the feeling there's something more to this place than we think there is. Wasn't that how it was in Foggy Forest? What I think, Flame, is that we should try jumping in. See if there really are secrets hidden out here."

Flame couldn't listen to this. It was absolutely nuts. When Julia looked back at her, Flame forced herself to look away.

"Julia, that's...that's insane."

Julia flinched, pinning both ears back. "Look, I know how it sounds, but - "

"I want to trust you, I really do! You're a...friend, and I know you're supposed to trust your friends, but this - " Flame waved a paw at the quicksand pits. " - this is suicide! You even saw Lucky die, right? If that's not something you made up to mess with me!"

"I'm not messing with you!" Julia clenched her fists, standing taller so she loomed over Flame. "Do you even know what I have to deal with right now? Getting these crazy visions, these weird feelings - I feel like I'm going out of my mind! I can't even tell you the half of it! I have to keep all this shit to myself!"

Then her vitriolic expression was replaced with a pleading one and she took one of Flame's paws in both of her own. "Flame, you're the only one I can trust with this. I - I don't know who else I can turn to."

Flame wanted to yank her paw away immediately, but she was flooded with overwhelming pity. "Julia, let's go home. Let's go back to the guild."

Panic leapt into Julia's face. "What?! But we came all this - "

"I'm scared you're going to hurt yourself out here," Flame said, her voice soft. "I don't want you drowning in quicksand because you had a bad dream or something."

Flame could see Julia's eyes filling with angry tears, but there was nothing Flame could do for her. She clearly wasn't in the right headspace right now, and if Flame let her do what she wanted here, Julia's death would be on her paws. Even if Julia really had lost it, she was still a friend, and Flame couldn't bear to lose her.

"What about the Time Gear?" Julia asked, gritting her teeth. "What if it's hidden somewhere under the sand?"

"There's nothing down there." Flame

* * *

Flame looked up as she thought about it. The grey clouds high above them reminded her of milky fog and steam clouds from the guild's last big expedition, allowing her mind to more easily slip into those memories. Back then, she'd barely known Julia, and to hear all those crazy things about her… They'd stirred the same conflicted, confused feelings within her, but she'd trusted her readily. It would be so easy to dismiss this all as insanity, and a part of Flame wanted to, but she knew she couldn't do that. Julia was a dear friend to her. Eccentric, mystifying, and occasionally rude, but those were the things that made her who she was.

And now, more than ever, now that Grovyle had already stolen three Time Gears, unconventional answers may be the only way to stop him. Julia's bizarre abilities and intuition had been the only reason they'd found Fogbound Lake. There was no reason not to trust her again.

Well, Flame could actually think of many reasons, but now wasn't the time for reason.

She took one of Julia's paws in both of her own, startling the pikachu. "To hell with it. Let's do it."

Julia went stiff and stared at Flame in confusion. "Wait...really?"

"You were right before, weren't you?" Flame smiled warmly in an effort to mask her nervousness. "It's just the same as last time - you got that feeling you'd been here before, and then you got a vision that pointed to the solution. It's all still really hard for me to comprehend, but I trust you!"

To Flame's surprise, Julia's eyes began to water. Was she...crying?

Julia blinked quickly, then rubbed at her eyes with her free paw. "Dumb sand," she muttered, "got some in my eyes."

"You good?" Flame asked, not without a hint of teasing.

Julia nodded, squinting one eye shut. "Y-yeah. Being in all this sand's gotta be bad for my health."

Flame giggled. "Well, there's gonna be a lot more where that came from." She looked past Julia at the quicksand pit. Was she really going to do this?

Julia turned to face the pit, still paw-in-paw with Flame. Flame couldn't help but notice how soft Julia's paw felt, even on the palm side. Its uncalloused surface must have been a result of the pikachu rarely using her front paws to walk. She chided herself for thinking about such a silly thing in this situation until Julia squeezed her paw slightly, sending a thrill through her body.

There was nothing wrong with admitting she found Julia hot, right? It didn't have to mean anything, except maybe that she should feel a little concerned about the fact that her type was apparently 'bafflingly weird ex-thugs'. There was probably some deep psychological reason for that.

"Ready?" Julia asked. "We're gonna run at it n' try to aim for the centre."

Flame nodded, taking in a deep breath.

"Good, do that too. You're gonna want to hold your breath when we jump."

Julia began to move first and Flame had no choice but to run side-by-side with her. The pit approached quickly, looming like some hungry monster, but there was no escaping it now. They jumped, Flame tightly shut her eyes, and the sand swallowed them both up.

The next thing Flame knew, she was falling through open air. She kept her eyes squinted shut until she fell flat on her ass into a pile of sand. She gasped for air and was pleased to find it readily available. The dark, sandy cave she now found herself in was a stark contrast from the vast openness of the desert. Sand trickled down from above in a few places, forming heaps on the floor beneath them - such as the one Flame was currently sitting in. She looked up, but it was too dark to see the ceiling above her.

A fluffy yellow head popped out of the sand pile beside her and coughed, spitting up sand. "God fuckin' - eugh!"

Flame watched in amusement as Julia yanked herself from the pile and promptly toppled to the ground. If she'd been caked in sand yesterday, she was absolutely plastered in it now.

"Hey, Flame," Julia growled, spitting on the floor and rising to her paws, "'ve I ever toldja how much I hate sand?"

"Once or twice," Flame responded with a smile.

Julia shook out her fur like a dog, then looked up. "Whaddaya know, I was right after all."

"I knew you were!" Flame grinned, excited. "This is it! There's gotta be a Time Gear around here somewhere! You're amazing, Julia!"

It was hard to see Julia's face in the dark, so Flame couldn't tell if she was blushing when she mumbled, "Whatever, it was nothin'."

Flame lit up her back, filling the room with the sound of crackling embers and providing a bit of light. It was nothing impressive like Sir Majestic Tail's flames, but it would have to do. Ahead, she could see a dark tunnel extending out - probably another mystery dungeon. It was always a mystery dungeon.

And beyond there, they might find the fourth Time Gear! The very thought got Flame's heart pounding.

"C'mon, Julia!" she said, waving a paw. "Let's go find that Time Gear!"

Shaking herself one last time, Julia headed over to the tunnel with Flame in tow.

"Y'know," Julia said, "now that I think about it, that wasn't quicksand at all. It was just kind of a big sand funnel."

Flame considered that. "Huh. You're right."

"So we can't really call this something like 'Quicksand Cave'. If anything, it's 'Misnomer Cave'."

Flame snickered, hoping dearly they'd be allowed to name this mystery dungeon for discovering it. Then again, calling it Misnomer Cave might be the quickest way to get banned from the Exploration Team Federation.

The two kept up a quick pace as they explored the cave. It surprised Flame that there were actually ferals living down here, but she and Julia did their best to avoid them instead of engaging in combat. When the occasional sandslash or mawile blocked their path and forced them to fight, Flame made quick work of them with assistance from Julia. This time, Julia didn't seem to be as annoyed at her ineptitude against the enemies and instead focussed on running around and distracting the ferals so Flame could finish them off without being attacked.

But even as they made rapid progress through the dungeon, Flame couldn't help but feel nervous. What if Grovyle had somehow already found out about this place and they were too late? The method of entry was incredibly inconspicuous, but that hadn't stopped him in the past.

Flame knew these thoughts wouldn't do her any good, however, and she put them aside. They'd just have to keep going and hope for the best.

As they ventured further into the depths of the cave, the amount of ferals they encountered began to decrease. The air felt charged, somehow, as if there was some great energy radiating out from somewhere. Julia seemed to pick up on this, too, and her pace increased. Flame nearly lost her as she tried to keep up, and when she finally caught up to the pikachu, it was to find her standing frozen at the edge of an impossibly vast underground lake.

"Whoa," was all Flame could say.

The jagged ceiling hung high above the pair, almost out of the light's reach, and the massive cavern stretched out so far Flame couldn't see the end of it. The lakewater itself rippled gently and seemed to be infused with a soft green glow.

"You see it?" Julia asked under her breath.

Flame did see it. Far across the lake, perfectly in its centre, a verdant light shone up from just beneath the water's surface. It made Flame's breath catch in her throat. That familiar light, the same as the one she'd seen not that long ago…

"It's the Time Gear!" She turned to Julia, exuberant. "We did it! We found it!"

Julia's expression nearly matched Flame's, but when she opened her mouth to respond, another voice interrupted her.

"What?! How did you find this place?!"

Flame whipped her head around, looking for the source of the voice. It almost sounded like it came from the lake itself.

"Who's there?" A horrible thought suddenly came to her, and she called, more nervously, "Are you the Time Gear thief?!"

A spray of water showered Flame and Julia with droplets as a pink-and-blue blur shot up from beneath the surface of the lake and faced them. Flame blinked water from her eyes and stared at the newcomer. It was a small pokémon with a blue body and pink face with hairlike feelers on the side of its head. It reminded Flame greatly of Uxie.

"Don't fuck with me!" snapped the being, glaring lividly at Julia and Flame. Unlike Uxie, her eyes were open, and also unlike Uxie, she appeared to have no chill. "Cretins! I'll make you pay for what you did to Uxie and their Time Gear!"

"Wait, what are you - " Julia began, only to suddenly be thrown against the back wall by some invisible force. Flame was next and had no time to react as she was lifted in the air and smashed into the ground. The side of her head, the direct point of impact, exploded in a pain that rippled through the rest of her body. Shock made Flame freeze up, unable to even voice a cry.

The pokémon raised her arms and both Flame and Julia were levitated in the air. Julia struggled furiously while Flame continued to lay limp, staring in horror at the being.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Julia demanded, flailing against the invisible grip. "We're not trying to - "

"Shut UP!" The being closed her fists, and Flame felt a force all around her throat, choking her out. "Uxie told me through telepathy all about how their Time Gear was stolen! I know you two must be to blame!"

Now Flame began to writhe as her air supply began to run out. Julia changed tactics and blasted the being with an electric charge. She dropped them suddenly and recoiled backwards. Flame landed on all fours and put a paw against her neck, breathing heavily.

Julia stood up and faced the pokémon. "Will you just listen to me? You don't have to fight us! We aren't here to take shit!"

"I told you," said the pokémon, surrounding herself with a pink energy, "not to fuck with me!"

She released a blast of energy, aimed directly at Julia. Julia dodged to the side, but the pokémon followed up with another blast right after. This one caught Julia in the shoulder and she stopped moving as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh god, what is…?"

She gritted her teeth as her shoulders shook in sobs. Flame looked from her to the pokémon. Was this some kind of psychic attack?

"I am Mesprit!" the pokémon said, lifting Julia once again and tossing her at the ground. "The being of emotions and protector of the Underground Lake Time Gear! And you picked a REAL bad day to show up!"

"We're not the thieves!" Flame insisted, the flames on her back sputtering to match her indignation. "Stop attacking us!"

Mesprit practically growled as she charged up another pink attack and aimed it at Flame, who didn't see it coming in time to dodge. All of a sudden, the walls closed in on her. The air grew thick and oppressive, clogging her lungs and weighing down her body. Flame dropped back down to her paws, her fur standing on end, then looked up at Mesprit. The small pokémon was suddenly massive, her spread arms reaching out for miles and her tails long and vicious, ready to strangle Flame to death.

Flame had to get away. Right that instant. Mesprit would destroy her. Those passionate eyes could burn a hole through Flame's skull in an instant. But try as she might, Flame couldn't force her legs to move. She could hardly even muster the will to breathe.

Why? Why did they come here? This had been a terrible idea. Hadn't they had any sense? Hadn't they realized the danger? Where had they summoned the foolish courage to challenge the gods? What was _wrong_ with them?!

"Flame!"

Julia's voice was distant and mournful, which only served to heighten Flame's oppressive terror. Why was she so upset? What if Mesprit had already eviscerated her and she was crying out with her dying breath?

"Flame, it's - hhh - it's not real! She - she's making y-y-you feel scared! Y-you gotta fight it!"

Not real? How could this fear be anything _but_ real? It was only right to feel such a thing in the presence of someone who was clearly so much superior. Flame's body was lifted in the air and she immediately curled up in what she already knew was a futile attempt to shield herself from the immense pain that was sure to follow.

Flame's back was violently reintroduced to the ground, but for a moment, as that sharp pain shot through her body, the realization struck her. This wasn't her. She could be cowardly sometimes, but not to this extent. Mesprit had somehow induced this feeling in her.

As soon as the realization had hit, the terror returned in full force and Flame immediately curled up again, shivering violently. No, there was no way she could face Mesprit! Even if it was fake, terror was terror, and she was immobilized all the same.

But then she was lifted in the air again, and for a brief window of time, the fear in her mind switched targets. She suddenly found herself less afraid of the floating shrimp and much more afraid of being hurt again, and so she took that opportunity to relight the flames on her back and send a blast of fire in Mesprit's direction.

Mesprit, who had apparently not expected Flame to fight back, was hit by the full force of the attack and let out a surprised yelp as she dropped to the ground. Flame was released from the psychic hold and landed on her feet, suddenly feeling a little ashamed for having been so afraid of this rather wispy-looking pokémon. A bolt of electricity struck Mesprit while she was down.

"Good riddance," Julia grumbled as she walked up to Flame. Her cheeks were soaked with tears but she only looked vaguely pissed-off. "Hey, Mestar or whatever your name is, we're not the fucking thief. Quit fighting us, you dipshit."

Mesprit struggled to sit up, one eye squinted shut in pain. "Explain how you knew about this place, then! Only the thief would know that kind of thing!"

"Or a pair of really good guessers who are trying to protect it," Julia retorted.

Something wet trickled down Flame's face and the scent of blood hit her nose. Her head swam, whether from having been hit two too many times or from bloodloss or - more likely - from feeling queasy about the smell, and she began to feel the distinct faintness that preceded a fainting episode. Julia, too, looked worse for wear, though nowhere near as bad as Flame. Ignoring the red eyes and soaked fur from the magically-induced depressive episode, her whole body seemed to be drooping from exhaustion.

Mesprit was more than likely fully aware of this, but she didn't move to attack, only glaring at them in extreme suspicion. "Oh, sure, a likely story," she spat. "Then who's the REAL thief, huh?"

"That would be me."

Another new voice spoke from behind Flame, coarse but much less grating than Mesprit's. Vision blurry, she turned her head back to see who had arrived, but all she could make out was a thin green silhouette.

Julia was also staring back, her eyes wide. "Grovyle."

"Great, we've got a real bastard on our hands here," Mesprit growled sarcastically, floating back up. "How long were you waiting back there just to say that shit, huh?!"

Quick as lightning, the green shape dashed between Flame and Julia and cleanly swiped at Mesprit, knocking her back down instantly. Flame blinked hard, forcing her eyes to focus. The shape coalesced as a green reptilian pokémon with a red underbelly and piercing yellow eyes. His appearance of powerful grace had been almost perfectly captured by the wanted posters all over town.

"No," Flame said softly, taking a step forward. Then, louder, she repeated, "No! You can't take it!"

Julia's cheeks crackled with sparks, but then she dropped to all fours, coughing. "F-fuck…"

Grovyle's gaze flicked over Julia and Flame, taking in their battered states. "Sorry," he said, "but I need the Time Gear more than any of you do." Then he turned and plunged into the lake. A small wake fanned out behind him as he rapidly swam out towards the glowing centre of the lake.

It couldn't be, Flame thought as she stared helplessly at his disappearing form. They'd come out all this way and fought Mesprit, and for what? For Grovyle to just swoop in after everyone had finished beating each other up and snatch the Time Gear right in front of them?

"We need to haul ass," Mesprit groaned. She pushed herself up onto her hands and knees and stared severely at Flame and Julia. "Right fucking now."

"What?" Julia got back to her feet, wiping a trickle of blood from her mouth. "But we gotta stop - "

"Do any of us look like we're in any condition to take that guy?!" Mesprit turned her head to look back at the lake fearfully. The glow dimmed, then vanished.

Flame expected the ground to begin shaking and for stalactites to rain down over them, but no tremors started up. Instead, as she watched the lake, she began to notice something very strange. From the place where the Time Gear had just been, a sheet of grey began to slide across the surface of the water, reaching out to the walls and painting them monochrome. No fanfare, no noise, just a rapid draining of colour.

"Right now!" Mesprit yelled, whirling on Flame and Julia. "Run!"

She began to fly towards the exit, but Julia quickly reached up and grabbed one of her two tails to yank her back down. Mesprit hit the ground with a thud and flipped on her back to begin an encore of screaming when Julia held out her explorer badge, immediately removing Mesprit from the scene.

"Dumbass," Julia muttered. Flame felt too dejected to even offer a shrug in response. She couldn't see Grovyle among the expanding sea of grey. Had he found another way to escape? Did the Time Gear grant him immunity to whatever crime against nature was taking place here? It didn't matter. All that mattered was that Flame and Julia had failed.

Not keen on sticking around for the spreading grey, Flame pulled out her own explorer badge and teleported out. She reappeared back at the entrance to Northern Desert - thank the gods, now would have been a terrible time for the explorer badges to be finicky about their end destination - and Julia appeared next to her a moment later. Mesprit was already there, floating back and forth in a line like one might pace. She kept clenching and unclenching her fists and flailing her tails about furiously. Upon Flame and Julia's arrival, she pointed at them accusingly.

"You did this! This is your fault!"

Julia raised an eyebrow. "We really oughta introduce you to this guy we know, name's Loudred. I'm sure y'all'd get along famously."

Mesprit grabbed Julia in that psychic grip of hers but immediately cried out and dropped her to clutch at her own chest. There were two thin white lines scored across her body where Grovyle had attacked her.

"You two...weakened me up...so he could kill me!" Mesprit gasped out. Flame, now feeling a little more clear-headed out in the open air, crossed her arms over her chest.

"You didn't even let us explain ourselves! We were trying to tell you why we were really there!"

"And yer a drama queen," Julia grumbled under her breath, brushing sand off her fur. "'E didn' even hitchu that hard."

If Mesprit heard Julia's comment, she gave no indication of it. She resumed pacing, both hands clasped over her heart. "And now my Time Gear is gone! Stolen! By that smug scoundrel!" She threw her head back and covered her face with her hands. "Who even DOES that?! Was he just waiting behind a rock the whole time so he could have a dramatic entrance?! What a fucking cliché!"

Flame was beginning to wonder if that blood running slowly down her head was actually from her ears.

"Mesprit, was it?" she asked, hoping to stop the pokémon's ranting. Mesprit whirled on her as if Flame had just thrown a terrible insult at her.

"Nooooo, it's Grovyle," Mesprit responded in a mocking tone. "What, didn't you even listen to me?! Arceus above you have no idea how PISSED I am right now!"

I can wager a guess, Flame resisted responding. "What happened back there? Why did everything start turning grey? Was that what it looks like when time stops?"

Mesprit shut her eyes and rubbed her temples. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. Can I get a sane damn person around here?! Who in their right mind sends dumb children out on sabotage missions? I hate you both!"

Julia huffed a sigh. "C'mon, Flame, let's herd this chick back to town. We need to report to Chatot about this as soon as possible."

"Right," Flame replied. There wasn't much else any of them could do in their current conditions. Getting out of that cave in one piece was a great enough accomplishment.

Julia began walking back in the direction of Treasure Town, a griping and whining Mesprit in tow, and Flame trailed along behind. After only a few steps, however, her head swam again and she stopped, closing her eyes and trying to remain conscious.

"Whoa, hey!"

Flame felt Julia's paws on her shoulders and she groggily blinked at the pikachu. "S-sorry, I'm fine," she said, "just needed a sec to - "

"You're _not_ fine," Julia insisted, glaring at her. Though her expression was stern, her eyes betrayed her worry. "We're gonna get you healed up before we go anywhere."

As Flame steadied herself on her paws, Julia dug through her bag until she procured two oran berries.

"Here, eat one of these." She shoved one berry into Flame's paws, then sliced into the other with a short claw. Placing a paw on Flame's head to position her, she squeezed the juice from the berry over the wound on her head. The liquid stung and Flame whimpered softly, but she could already feel the berry working its metaphorical magic, and the throbbing in her skull ebbed somewhat.

"What about you, Julia?" Flame asked. "You're hurt too, aren't you?"

Julia looked over the flattened, inedible scrap of berry she now held and shrugged, tossing it over her shoulder. "I'll live. You took more damage than me, anyways."

Frowning, Flame took in Julia's appearance. Julia was trying to look nonchalant, but she was covered in scrapes from being tossed around like a ragdoll and she didn't exactly look all that steady on her own feet, either.

Flame took a bite of half the berry, then held out the remaining half to Julia, who immediately put up both paws in a warding gesture. "You need the energy just as much as I do," Flame said. "I'm not going anywhere 'til you agree to eat it."

After a moment's hesitation, Julia took the proffered berry. "Bitch," she muttered as she ate it, though there was no barb in her tone.

Even the half of the oran berry reinvigorated Flame enough that fainting unexpectedly was no longer a concern, and Flame was relieved to see some of the light had returned to Julia's eyes. For a moment, silence passed over the two and they stared at each other, both hesitating as if there was something they wanted to say.

That silence was rudely interrupted by Mesprit.

"What the hell are you two waiting for? We're not out of the radius of danger yet!" She turned around huffily and began to fly off in some random direction. "Fine! Stand around here and die, for all I care!"

Julia hastily broke eye contact with Flame and ran around to block Mesprit's way. "Slow down there, princess, we're not going to Buttfuck Nowhereville. Treasure Town's thataway."

Mesprit threw an arm over her face and began to weep dramatically. "How DARE you treat me like this?! When we get to civilization, I'm taking legal action against you for this blatant disrespect, you hear?! You're not going to get away with this!"

Julia looked back at Flame, her expression deadpan. It was going to be a _long_ walk home.

"Hey," Flame said softly before Julia could begin walking again. "Thanks."

This time, Julia couldn't turn her face quickly enough to hide her blush. "It's nothing," she mumbled, fidgeting with her bandana. She then set off at a hasty pace, eliciting another round of nonsensical complaints from Mesprit.

Flame followed along behind, warmth spreading throughout her chest. Sure, Julia was weird as all hell, her abilities were bizarrely convenient, and she was kind of a jerk, but Flame couldn't deny the excitement those things awakened in her. If Julia was like the main character of some twisted fairytale, Flame wanted to be a part of her story.

* * *

**Before we get to the mini-hiatus, there _is_ one more chapter I have to put out. The less said about it the better, but I'd just like to give the disclaimer that it's not a sign that I'm giving in. I'm just throwing the dog a bone, that's all.**


	21. Chapter 20:

**I didn't mean to get this chapter out so late. I was just having a bit of trouble working on it. Can't imagine what inhibited me.**

**That's a joke.**

* * *

Lucky lay on his stomach in his soft bed of hay at the guild. He kicked his legs idly as he turned the crystal over and over in his paws, watching light refract over its angles. It was a pretty thing, all pale blue and translucent, but he didn't find himself particularly interested in it.

Also not interested in the gem was Perry, who was presently flapping about the room in an airborne approximation of pacing. Most would find the sound of constant start-and-stop fluttering annoying, but Lucky had had nearly his whole life _and_ that whole morning to get used to it. Now it was just pleasant background noise to him.

The high-pitched chirping, however, was a little more grating.

"Are you done looking at that rock yet? Can we go?"

Still, Lucky was very good at ignoring people, so he went on pretending the crystal had absorbed all of his attention. Perhaps sensing this was Lucky's game, Perry flew over and landed directly on top of the gem, claws digging in clumsily as he tried to gain purchase.

"Seriously, Lucky!" Perry insisted, glaring at his brother. "We've done nothing productive all morning! We have to go look for the Time Gears, remember?"

Lucky pushed himself up and shifted into a sitting position, still holding the gem with Perry precariously perched atop it. "That's totally not true, you know."

Perry clacked his beak sharply. "What's that supposed to mean?! Even as members of the guild, we should be out looking! Don't you care at all about the fate of - "

"No, that's not what I meant!" Lucky gave a cheeky grin and tilted his head to the side. His tassels bounced with the motion. "I mean we totally _have_ been productive!"

"Nearly getting kicked out of Spinda's isn't productivity."

"But what about our super-duper productive chat with Chimecho?"

"Asking her if the universe is real also isn't productive." Letting out a huffy sigh, Perry flittered back off the crystal and landed on the ground. "I wish you'd take this seriously, at least once. Haven't we waited long enough?"

That was a good question, and not one Lucky could honestly answer. _Had_ they waited long enough? It had been quite a while now since Julia and Flame had headed out for the day, and they could be back at any time. Lucky's intent had been to just drag Perry around on inconsequential little diversions until the pair returned, but he was starting to suspect the bird would reach the end of his rope before that happened.

Really, Perry was far too worried about the situation. Grovyle obviously wasn't going to get away with it, so why panic? With the whole guild out searching for the Time Gears and the Great Dusknoir on the case, the outcome of this whole shebang was an inevitability.

But it wasn't like Perry could help it - the guy had always been a skeptic. That made conversation with him refreshing and, more importantly than that, it made trolling him easier than stealing perfect apples from the guild's food stores.

"Just give me a little more time, bro," Lucky said, tossing the gem in a paw. "I'm, like, super obsessed with this gem and I wanna look at it for a bit longer."

"How can you stand to be so...so nonchalant about the whole thing?" Perry sounded exasperated at this point. "We've got an important mission to do here. The fate of the _world_ is in our paws! And here you are, just sitting, and…" He made a circling gesture with his wing. "...playing with a rock!"

Lucky suddenly hopped up to his feet and gave a wry smirk. "I'm not plaaaaaying with it, I'm just looking at it! You wanna play with it? How about we play catch? That'll be fun!"

"Wh-what?!" Perry backed up, eyes wide in fear. It was clear he knew full well that if Lucky said he wanted to play catch with a pointed crystal, there was a very real chance of him following through with it.

Fortunately for Perry, Lucky just grinned and tucked the crystal away in his bag. "Just kidding! Wow, didja think I'd actually do something as silly as playing?"

Perry gave him a dour look. "Yes. Obviously."

The corner of Lucky's mouth turned up further, exposing his pointed canines. "Awww, were ya scared?"

"No," Perry responded instantly, then amended, slower, "Yes. God knows you're stupid enough to hurl a rock at me."

Lucky deftly bent down and picked up Perry by both of his wings and trapped the struggling spearow in a tight hug. "Aw, I'd never do anything to hurt my pwecious pwecious baby bwothuw!"

"Let go of - !" Perry sighed and stilled his movements, resigned to the abuse. "I know, Lucky, I know."

Releasing Perry so he could flit off and perch on the ledge of the window a safe distance away, Lucky put his paws behind his back and took a moment to consider his next course of action. At this point, the array of time-wasting options had dwindled down to nearly nothing. Hopefully Murphy wouldn't screw him over.

"Okay! I've made up my mind!"

Perry turned his head questioningly but didn't move from his spot. "Have you, now?"

"Yeppers!" Lucky turned to face Perry and stuck out an arm, an invitation for Perry to swap perches. "We're going out to look for the Time Gear!"

Giving Lucky a curious look, Perry dutifully flew back over and landed on Lucky's arm, lightly digging in his talons. The spearow weighed nothing, the pricks of his talons barely enough to register in Lucky's nerves. The reminder made Lucky's smile wane slightly. Poor thing.

Lucky trotted down the hallway and into the crew room. Only Loudred was in sight, sitting on the ground next to the sentry hole. Slow day, Lucky guessed. All the explorer teams in town were bound to be out looking for Grovyle. Too bad for the pokémon who had sent in rescue requests. On the other hand, the crooks must have been having a wailord of a time.

The doors to Wigglytuff's office were closed, as they had been all day. Once Dusknoir, Chatot, and Wigglytuff had gone in to discuss their next plan, none had come out. Lucky took it that planning wasn't going well. It made sense - the feeling of defeat after the brightest minds had failed to formulate a plan of action must have been crippling.

When Loudred noticed Lucky and Perry, he shot them a scowl. "FINALLY going out to HELP with the SEARCH?"

Lucky nodded earnestly. "Yep! We're gonna find it for sure!"

Loudred snorted and turned his head away. "Oh, I'm SURE you will. You're such a HARD WORKER, after all."

Lucky put his free paw on his hip, pouting. Everyone _always_ forgot to include Perry in their insults. It was as if they didn't like Lucky's brother or something. People could be just so cruel.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!" called Diglett's voice from the hole. Loudred got to his feet, Lucky and Perry temporarily forgotten.

"WHOSE FOOTPRINT? WHOSE FOOTPRINT?"

"It's Pikachu!" Diglett responded. "And Flame! And...someone else? I can't - Excuse me, can you please float closer to the grate? I can't read your print properly if you don't - "

Another voice, high-pitched and screechy, floated from the hole, though it was too faint for Lucky to pick out the words.

"Oh no," Diglett said, "now she's yelling at me."

Loudred huffed and called down, "Just you hold ON, Diglett, I'll get that gate OPEN soon as I can," then headed over to the ladder and clambered up with surprising agility for someone as bulky as him. Lucky and Perry watched him go, then exchanged looks.

"Weird client?" Perry suggested. Lucky shrugged.

"Who knows."

Lucky walked towards the ladder, deliberately taking his time, and before he'd even reached it that high-pitched voice began yelling again, this time much louder and nearer. The owner of that voice seemed to be firing off insults of the increasingly nonsensical variety. Lucky smirked as he began a one-armed ascent. Whoever was causing the ruckus, he already liked them.

The main floor of the guild was chaos. Loudred, Diglett, Sunflora, and Bidoof were all making desperate attempts to keep a hysterical blue-and-pink pokémon under control as she zipped around the room, yelling and crying. Julia and Flame stood in front of the ladder out of the way of the mayhem, apparently over it. The former's arms were crossed as she leaned against the wall while the latter fidgeted uncomfortably. Both noticed Lucky and Perry when they joined them on the floor, but neither gave much of a reaction.

"Wowwww," said Lucky, watching in amusement as Mesprit flailed against the vines Sunflora was trying to restrain her with. "What's going on up here?"

"Long story," Julia said, sighing, "but the short of it is we were too late to stop Grovyle from taking the Northern Desert Time Gear and now the guardian is pissed."

That was completely unsurprising. "Did you try telling her to stop being pissed?"

Julia just gave him a tired look.

Perry let go of Lucky's arm and flitted back towards the ladder. "I'll get Chatot," he chirped nervously, then dropped down the ladder tunnel. In the mean time, Lucky watched the pandemonium unfold in front of him. Now Mesprit was pinned down on the ground, still shouting obscenities, but Bidoof had somehow also gotten tangled up in the vines and Diglett was trying to free him while Loudred yelled at Sunflora for being so rough with such a small pokémon. Lucky would have wanted to leap into the fray to free Mesprit and pretend to side with her so he could join in on swearing at everyone with reckless abandon, but that would have to wait indefinitely.

"Sooooo," he began, "there was a Time Gear at Northern Desert after all?"

Flame nodded. "Yeah, turns out there was a whole mystery dungeon beneath the quicksand pits! And there was a huge lake down there, too! That's where the Time Gear was." She looked down and bit her lip. "But Mesprit thought we were the Time Gear thieves and attacked us. That's when Grovyle ran in and nabbed the Time Gear!"

Lucky gave a little gasp, putting his paws to his cheeks in mock surprise. "You mean you _failed_? Whatever will Chatot say when he finds out?"

Julia opened her mouth to begin a snappy retort, but at that moment Dusknoir floated up through the floor in front of them, startling her into silence. He took in the scene, then floated towards the captive Mesprit. She was still yelling at the top of her lungs, but when Dusknoir began to speak to her in soft tones, she instantly quieted down. Lucky shuddered involuntarily. Dusknoir sure was...something. The attractiveness sure came in handy when it came to public relations.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

A flurry of feathers accompanied Chatot as he sailed up from the ladder tunnel to fly over Lucky's head and land next to Dusknoir. "Who is this and why are they trussed up like a prisoner?!"

Mesprit started up her crying again and Sunflora had to desperately attempt to explain herself. Bidoof was still stuck in the vines but he seemed to have accepted his fate.

"Geez," muttered Perry as he alighted on the top rung of the ladder. "You'd think a guardian of a Time Gear would be more put-together than this."

"You're telling me," Julia agreed. She took a step into the room, apparently to join the others at the crash site for some reason, but Lucky quickly dashed forward and grabbed her tail to stop her.

She responded to that by shocking him.

"Wow, rude," he said, coughing. The jolt hadn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant. When would Lucky learn not to grab people by the tail? That answer was too obvious to necessitate an answer.

Julia narrowed her eyes at Lucky. "What do you want?"

He shook his tingling paw out, then put on a grin. "I just got a super great idea. Meet me in our room and I'll show you."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and jumped down the ladder tunnel, landing in a roll and swiftly hopping back on his feet. He was pleased to find his ankle didn't protest against the action. Those oran berries sure were potent.

Perry joined Lucky in the crew room, looking exasperated. He didn't bother to tell him off for the reckless jump this time, but he did ask in a suspicious tone, "What are you planning? What's this 'idea'?"

Lucky winked. "Just trust me, bro."

He zipped back into his room and plopped down on the bed to wait. He still couldn't get over how comfy the beds here were. Having personally tested each guild member's bed himself, he could confirm they were all just as soft and bouncy as his. He'd kill to have a straw bed this luxurious at home.

Perry settled down in his own bed, which dwarfed him comedically. Neither had long to wait for Julia, who appeared in the doorway within a minute. She'd brought Flame with her, or perhaps Flame had just decided to tag along. Both looked apprehensive.

"Alright, I'm here," Julia said, not yet moving from the doorway to enter the room. "What did we have to come down here for?"

Lucky scooched over in his bed and patted the hay next to him invitingly, an action that Julia completely ignored.

"It's about your Dimensional Scream, silly!" he woofed with enthusiasm. "Do you really want everyone to see you pass out?"

Julia blinked and opened her mouth slightly, as if she was about to ask what the hell he was talking about but couldn't get the words out. Beside her, Flame looked at Lucky curiously.

"That's her ability, right? I remember Julia mentioning that's what it's called…"

"Yep!" Lucky bounced up to his feet and trotted right up to Julia. "See, I got this super great idea! If there was a Time Gear hidden in Northern Desert after all, maybe there's a Time Gear at one of the other places we went to!" At this point he procured the gem from his bag and held it out. "So if you touch this gem, maybe you'll get a vision of the Time Gear in Crystal Cave! Aren't I clever?"

Julia finally managed to get her mouth working again and she set it in a tight-lipped frown. Had he said too much? He knew it was a little soon to be suggesting this, but he had to try it out.

"I can't control what activates this," she said carefully, narrowing her eyes. "I might not see anything."

Lucky put on his best puppydog-eyes and batted his lashes. "Buuuuut you might not _not_ see anything! It's worth a try, right?"

Giving a half-grimace, Julia pushed past Lucky and stepped into the room. She glanced briefly at Perry, who offered her a shrug, then looked back at Lucky. "Alright, fine. Hand it over."

"With pleasure!" Lucky plopped the gem into Julia's paws, then took a step back and rocked on his heels, waiting. Flame came in closer, curious.

"Do you see anything?" she asked. Julia shut her eyes tightly, perfectly still.

"Nothing yet…"

"Hurry up!" Lucky said. "This is so boooooring!"

Julia cracked an eye open to glare at him. "Don't rush me! I'm not some kinda on-demand seer!"

Lucky grinned back, still rocking. Any moment now…

Suddenly, Julia jolted, ducking her head down and gritting her teeth. She swayed unsteadily on her feet and dropped the gem. Flame took a panicked step forward, ready to catch Julia if she fell, but the pikachu's episode ended as suddenly as it began. Brows furrowed, she stared at Lucky incredulously.

"I - I saw Grovyle. He was...he was in some place surrounded by crystals, and there was another one of those floaty guys there - I think he'd beat it up."

Flame gasped and Perry rose to his feet, eyes wide, but Lucky only gave a mild grin. Closing her eyes again, Julia folded her ears back and rubbed at her temples.

"That's all I saw, though. It was - it was too short for me to figure out what was going on, but - " She opened her eyes and let out a breath. "I think you were right. He must've been there to take the Time Gear."

"Wow, I _am_ clever!" Lucky bounced in place excitedly. "C'mon, we gotta go tell everyone!"

Julia's dubious look returned. "Wait just a moment," she said, crossing her arms. "If we're just gonna tell everyone anyways, why'd we do this all privately here? It's gonna be a helluva lot harder to explain to them this way."

Lucky didn't have an immediate answer. There _was_, of course, an answer to her question, and she'd probably believe it, but Lucky couldn't really go saying it with Perry and Flame around. That, and her fragile mental state probably wouldn't be able to handle it.

"It was just to test if it would actually work," Perry piped up. "Lucky didn't want you to get embarrassed in front of everyone if you didn't get a vision."

Lucky beamed at his brother, pride swelling in his chest. Ah, his wonderful little excuse machine. Even when Perry had no idea what the hell Lucky was up to, he still backed him up no matter what. Perry had long given up on trying to figure out Lucky's reasoning and had taken to blindly trusting him, as long as he knew that what Lucky was doing was for the good of both of them. And it usually was.

Still, Julia didn't seem to entirely trust that answer. She still looked defensive, maybe even more so now.

"Really," she deadpanned, narrowing her eyes.

Lucky smiled innocently. "Aw, don't be like that! I'm your friend, aren't I? I'm just looking out for you! How stupid would you look if nothing happened? Actually, we'd _both_ look stupid! That'd be even worse!"

Despite not looking convinced in the slightest, Julia gave a slight nod. "Fine. So now all we gotta do is tell everyone all about my powers that nobody knew 'bout 'til now and trust them to believe me, right?"

"But didn't you say Dusknoir is the one who told you about the Dimensional Scream?" Flame asked, sounding hopeful. "If he's still around, he can back you up on that!"

"Don't forget about us!" Lucky added. "We all saw you have the vision, too!"

Julia gave him a look. "You're not exactly the most reliable sources." She glanced back at Perry and her expression briefly flickered to uncertainty. "Well...maybe you're not included in that."

Lucky put his paws behind his back, not saying anything more. There was no choice, of course. If Julia saw Grovyle, she'd have to tell the guild eventually. This indecision was just a stall tactic. She wanted to suspect Lucky, suspect this thing was somehow rigged, but his alibi was solid. There was nothing she could do.

Finally, Julia sighed and let her arms fall to her sides. "Alright. I don't even know if this was a vision of the past or the future, but we've gotta tell everyone. Let's hurry up there before Dusknoir leaves."

Flame and Julia quickly headed out of the room and Lucky began to follow, but Perry suddenly chirped, "Hang on, Lucky."

"Yeeeees?" Lucky sang, tilting his head back to look at Perry. The spearow looked uneasy yet resigned.

"Are you ever going to tell me how you know these things?" The question lacked any real uncertainty. He already knew what the answer would be.

Because of that, Lucky responded only with a conspiratorial smile. After a silent moment between the two, Perry shook his head and flew past Lucky down the hall. Lucky followed at a jog, a leisurely pace by his standards. He wanted to be casual about this, but he also wanted to see how it all played out.

Back on the main floor, the situation seemed to have settled down. Mesprit was gone and the vines were cleaned up. The entire guild was present, talking eagerly with each other about the ruckus that had just taken place there or watching the conversation taking place between Dusknoir, Wigglytuff, Chatot, and a magnemite. Officer Magnezone always travelled with a magnemite or two, so Lucky supposed that meant he'd come by to pick Mesprit up. That was good; she'd certainly fare much better among law enforcement than she would among a bunch of unruly kids.

Julia was by Chatot's side, trying to get his attention, but he kept shooing her with a wing, shooting her stern looks. His conversation with Magnemite must have been too important for him to get distracted by whatever nonsense Julia would be on about.

Boring. When were they gonna call a meeting to order? Lucky could idle away an entire morning, sure, but this was unacceptable. These people had no timing skills.

Having already spent all his time-wasting patience, Lucky padded over to where Loudred and Sunflora were engaged in verbal fisticuffs with a concerned Bidoof off to the side, who was weakly trying to tell them to stop.

"Oh my gosh, who's the hypocrite here?" Sunflora was asking. "You wouldn't even be defending her if she wasn't such a screaming loudmouth!"

"What the HELL is THAT supposed to MEAN?!" Loudred demanded, clenching his fists.

Sunflora jabbed Loudred roughly in the chest, leering. "You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about! The only reason you care about her is because she's just as noisy as you!"

"OH! NOW you've gone and CROSSED the FUCKING LINE! If you DON'T take that BACK, I SWEAR on the GODS - "

"You don't have to swear on them, I'm sure they already hear you from all the way - "

"Wow, what're we yelling about over here?" Lucky interrupted cheerily, skipping in between them. Neither bothered to answer.

"Is there ANYTHING WRONG with TRYING to PROTECT someone who's CLEARLY upset - "

"There _is_ when you're only doing it to get - "

"DON'T you fucking FINISH that SENTENCE!" Loudred reached around Lucky to jab Sunflora back. Lucky was finding this particular location to be incredibly painful on the ears. Another minute of this and he'd definitely go deaf, he was sure of it.

"Hey, guys!" he tried again, waving his arms. Now he was certain both had seen that, but they continued to stubbornly ignore him.

"Am I wrong?" Sunflora challenged with a sneer. "You're racketsexual and don't you dare deny it!"

"That's NOT even a FUCKING WORD!"

Actually, Lucky reconsidered, his brain would probably explode after another minute of this. He'd be dead _and_ deaf, which was worse than just being deaf.

"Guys! Guys!" He bounced up and down, now actually putting in effort to get their attention. Loudred's eyes briefly flicked down to Lucky but he still didn't seem keen on answering. Lucky would have to change tactics.

"FUCK!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Both Loudred and Sunflora gasped and took a step back, the former accidentally treading on Bidoof's paw in the process.

"LANGUAGE!" Loudred snapped at Lucky, putting his hands on his hips. Sunflora nodded firmly, looking equally aghast at this foul-mouthedness.

"Oh my gosh, where did you learn to say something like that?" she demanded. "I can't believe someone as young as you would say such a strong word!"

"What can I say?" Lucky said, shrugging cheekily. "I just picked it up off the street!"

With their argument sufficiently interrupted, Loudred turned his full attention towards Lucky, already looking tired. "The HELL you want, mutt?"

"I was just thinking…"

"OH, so you actually DO that sometimes?"

Lucky held up a finger and made a shooshing noise. "Don't be fucking rude!" he said, eliciting another gasp from Sunflora. "Anyways, what I was _thinking_…"

He stepped back and took Loudred's hand in one paw and Sunflora's leaf hand in another. "I know you guys, like, totally hate each other and all, but that totally ruins my ships! Loudred, you should stop being in love with Mesprit - "

"I'm NOT!" Loudred protested, his face going red.

" - and Sunflora, you should stop getting your toes sucked on by Fluffy!"

"What?!" Sunflora shrieked. She immediately tried to wrench her hand from Lucky's ironclad grasp. "Oh my gosh, what are you even talking about?! That never happened! Oh my hecking gosh!"

Lucky gave her a wry smile, which only served to heighten her alarm. Watching all this in steadily-growing horror was Bidoof, who seemed to decide it was about high time to escape before he got caught up in the fray of horrible gossip. Unfortunately for him, Lucky saw his attempted escape to the side.

"You two kiss and make up, okay?" he told Sunflora and Loudred, mashing their hands together, then dashed off without looking back to cut Bidoof off.

"Oof!" Bidoof yelped, taking a hurried step back. "D-don't you mind little ol' me, Lucky," he stammered, "I'm jus' heading off to - "

"When are ya gonna tell her, huh?"

Bidoof shrank back further. "Tell who what now?"

Lucky's smile was unfaltering as he said, "Oh, you know. I know exactly who you have a big massive crush on. And you should totally tell her."

"Sh-shucks now, Lucky, I've frankly got no clue what you're on about!" Bidoof stammered, sweating profusely. "I don't got no crush, no siree! As a matter of fact, I - "

"Everyone! Please gather around for a guild meeting!"

Chatot's high-pitched squawk cut Bidoof off and he sighed gratefully while Lucky crossed his arms with a pout.

"You got off easy this time," he said, "but don't you think I'm forgetting about this." Lucky gave Bidoof a two-fingered I'm-watching-you gesture, then abandoned the terrified Bidoof to gleefully take his place in the forming lines.

When Perry landed next to Lucky and gave him a long look, Lucky thought he was about to get a mouthful for his pointless attempts at pushing romance, but the spearow broke into a faint grin and muttered, "Keep at it and they'll never get together just to spite you."

Lucky playfully stuck his tongue out at Perry for that.

Soon, everyone had gathered in their rows, with Dusknoir, Chatot, and Wigglytuff at the front of the room. Lucky shot a glance at Julia and noticed the pikachu's ears pinned back and her expression was one of frustration. Looks like she didn't get to talk to Chatot about her vision yet. Good, that should make things more interesting.

"Ahem!" Chatot looked over the guild members, making sure everyone was present, then began, "Now that that ruckus is over, we may discuss the very serious occurrence that has just taken place. Mesprit has been taken in by Officer Magnezone for further questioning, but we have already gained some important information." He took in a deep breath before continuing. "The fourth Time Gear has been stolen."

Within moments, the room was once again in an uproar. Lucky contributed to the horrified yelling with a few swears just for fun until Perry shut him down by way of wing over muzzle.

"Silence, everyone!" Chatot shrilled, cutting through the noise like a too-sharp pencil tears through thin paper. "Please control yourselves! Now, more than ever, we need to stay in the lane of rational thought!"

Everyone quieted down obediently, but trainees continued exchanging nervous glances.

"Here is the situation as Mesprit has told it," Dusknoir said, folding his arms. "Pikachu and Flame arrived at her lake, situated deep beneath the sands of the Northern Desert, and through an unfortunate misunderstanding, a battle ensued. When all parties were too exhausted to continue fighting, Grovyle made his appearance, wounding Mesprit further and collecting the Time Gear. Mesprit and our two apprentices only made it out by the skin of their teeth." He nodded to Julia and Flame. "Is this all correct?"

Julia nodded sharply. "Yes, that's right, and there's something else I have to - "

"Quiet down!" Chatot insisted crossly. "I've told you, you will get your turn to speak after this meeting!"

"But - "

"No buts! This is far more important than anything you have to say!"

Julia hunched down, grinding her teeth. Flame gave her a sympathetic look. Suppressing a snicker, Lucky silently thanked Chatot for being such a thick dunderhead.

"Anyways," Chatot continued, "this news has vastly heightened the urgency of our mission! There is only one Time Gear left, and Grovyle is still on the large! That means we must - we must - "

Chatot paused, unable to find his words. "We, er…"

"Allow me, if you will." Dusknoir floated in a little closer, as resolute as Chatot was uncertain. "Pikachu, Flame, you found this lake in Northern Desert, where you had searched previously and found nothing, yes?"

Julia was seething too hard to answer, so Flame filled in, "Uh, yeah, it was under the quicksand - or, uh, it wasn't _really_ quicksand, but anyways, there was an entire _mystery dungeon_ under there."

Dusknoir nodded, looking thoughtful. "Then what this means is there is a distinct possibility we have overlooked secrets held by the other two locations."

"One, hey hey!" Corphish piped up, waving his pincers madly. "I'm tellin' you, there's nothing in Eastern Forest! Nothing!"

That got a chuckle out of Dusknoir, which apparently stunned Corphish into silence. "You have been quite insistent on that matter, have you not? I believe you are one to be trusted on the subject."

"S-sir…" Corphish choked out, his eyes welling up in tears. "Th-thank you...hey hey…"

Lucky suddenly found Dusknoir's mono-eyed gaze on him. "Lucky, may I make a request?"

Lucky smiled innocently. "You can if ya want, I'm not gonna stop you."

"Would you give me your crystal for one moment?"

There were those magic words. Almost giddy with suppressed glee, Lucky skipped up to Dusknoir and handed over the gem. But then his paw briefly brushed Dusknoir's hand and the glee was momentarily trumped by disgust. That touch was devoid of temperature, but it still sent shivers down Lucky's spine. He hoped he would never again be subjected to the horror of physical contact with this abomination.

"This came from Crystal Cave, correct?" asked Dusknoir, apparently unaware of the effect he had on the riolu. Lucky nodded, now forcing his smile.

"Now then…" Dusknoir looked at Julia, who was back in full steely glare-mode. "Pikachu, would you be so kind as to touch this crystal?"

"...What?"

Chatot seemed to have found his words again and he looked from Dusknoir to Julia with a confused expression. "Excuse me, but what are you doing, Dusknoir?"

"Pikachu spoke with me the other day," Dusknoir said, "about an ability she possesses known as the Dimensional Scream."

"Oh?"

"It is an exceptionally rare ability that allows one to see the past or the future after touching a certain item," Dusknoir explained. "Pikachu possesses this very ability, and I believe it may prove useful in this situation."

Lucky could feel the heat of Julia's stare burning into his skull but he wasn't quite ready to let the cat out of the bag yet. Instead of acknowledging her, he looked up at Dusknoir and asked, "So, like, what you mean is you want her to get a vision about whether Grovyle is going to visit Crystal Cave?"

Dusknoir nodded. "That is precisely it."

"What a brilliant suggestion!" Chatot exclaimed, clapping his wings together. "Who would have known Pikachu had such a useful ability? Well, now, what are you waiting for, Pikachu? Come touch the crystal!"

Julia tore her gaze away from Lucky to stare at Chatot. "Is that it? Am I finally allowed to fucking talk?"

"Lan-guage!" Lucky shouted at her gleefully.

"What I've been _trying_ to say this whole goddamn time," Julia growled, cheeks crackling with sparks, "is that I've already had a vision."

Lucky closed his eyes and let the shocked exclamations of "What?!" and "Seriously?!" and "Oh my gosh!" roll over him. After that shouting match between Loudred and Sunflora, this was like audial candy. He opened his eyes to shoot a grin back at Perry, who now wore a knowing but concerned expression. Then Lucky met Julia's eyes and he reveled in the distrust harboured within them. He couldn't believe he'd actually been able to pull that off.

When the crowd had quieted down some, Dusknoir began to speak again, his voice full of undisguisable surprise. "What do you mean, you've already had a vision?"

Julia jerked her head at Lucky. "Apparently Lucky had the same idea as you. Before this meeting started, he got me to try touching the gem, and I got a vision of Grovyle in Crystal Cave. _That's_ what I've been trying so hard to tell you."

"This is unbelievable!" Chatot squawked, flustering. "Why, if I'd known what you had to say was so important, I would have allowed you to speak! Next time, you must try harder to get my attention!"

The dancing electricity on Julia's fur increased in ferocity. "Noted, _sir_."

"And you?" Dusknoir now turned to Lucky. "Why did you bother to go along with what I was asking if you had already conducted this experiment?"

Oh no, he'd asked it. Lucky hadn't even practiced what he wanted to say. Shit, he was going to flub this up so badly.

"No offence, sir," he said, blinking up at him innocently, "but I just wanted to watch you lose."

A mixture of expressions crossed Dusknoir's face. Lucky decided to imagine it was the seven stages of grief - shock, denial, anger, bargaining, and whatever came after that - then he casually skipped back to his place among the group. From back here, he couldn't tell what expression Dusknoir wore when he fixed his gaze on him, but it didn't matter. Lucky had one-upped the current most beloved figure on the continent for the sole purpose of one-uppery and there was nothing that figure could do about it.

Actually, in retrospect, it wasn't _that_ big of an accomplishment. He couldn't really troll Dusknoir properly - after all, what would the people think if their idol actually lost his temper at some dumb kid? - but for the circumstances, it was a pretty bang-up job.

"Oh, good heavens!" Chatot flapped his wings in agitation and looked to Dusknoir worriedly. "You must excuse Lucky, he's quite the avid troublemaker, you see. He meant nothing by it, I assure you!"

Dusknoir nodded slowly, deliberately taking his eye off Lucky. "It's no concern at all, Chatot. All that matters is that we now have a lead on Grovyle. Pikachu, you said you saw him in Crystal Cave, correct?"

"That's the thing I said," Julia snarked. "He'd attacked one of those blue guardian pokémon and said something about a Time Gear, so it's safe to say the guy went and took it."

"T-took?!" Chatot exclaimed. "You mean to say it's already happened?!"

"We can't be certain," Dusknoir replied, recrossing his arms. "The Dimensional Scream does not indicate whether the event occurred in the past or the future. However, one thing that Mesprit told me gives me some hope. She claimed Uxie contacted her telepathically after their Time Gear was stolen to alert her of the thief."

"That's right!" Flame said suddenly. "Mesprit said something like that when we met her, right, J - Pikachu?"

Julia gave a nod. She seemed to have calmed down, but her tail-tip was still flicking about in annoyance.

"Then we could reasonably expect this third being would have also contacted Mesprit had their Time Gear been stolen, but she made no mention of any other telepathic communications."

"So that means there's still hope!" Chatot finished for Dusknoir enthusiastically. He looked briefly over to Wigglytuff, who continued to stare straight forward, then announced, "I see no need to hesitate any further! Let us all be off to Crystal Cave! We must find and protect the final Time Gear before Grovyle steals it!"

A cheer rose up throughout the guild. Everybody made a beeline for the ladder and scrambled to ascend as quickly as possible. The only ones who remained behind were Chatot, who had realized with a start that Wigglytuff had actually fallen asleep with his eyes open and was now frantically trying to awaken him; Dusknoir, who was slowly turning the crystal over in his hands, eye narrowed; and Julia, Flame, Perry, and Lucky.

"Wow, that took wayyyy too long to get to the point, huh?" Lucky asked casually, grinning at Flame and Julia.

"I know," Flame responded with a sigh. "Honestly, I'm thinking we should've just yelled at Chatot about the vision from the start!"

"Did you do that on purpose?" Julia asked Lucky, her voice oddly quiet. "Did you just want to trigger my ability before Dusknoir could ask about it?"

She was a sharp one. Of course she'd see through the whole thing.

"Yep!" Lucky said. He wasn't scared of Dusknoir, but he decided to lower his voice, too. It would be lame to gloat right in front of his victim. "I figured he was gonna come up with the idea to make you have a vision, so I decided to try it out before he could!" He winked. "Am I a smart cookie or what?"

"You're...pretty dedicated to your craft," Flame carefully replied, smiling slightly. "Come on, we should join the others. We don't want to let them beat us there!"

Without further discussion, the four followed their guildmates up the ladder and out of the guild. Dusknoir avoided looking at Lucky as he passed, turning this scheme into an even greater victory for the riolu. Who knew Dusknoir had it in him to be so petty?

The sky was a dark, miserable grey, the kind that promised rain but never delivered. Lucky hated looking at it, but still he scanned the heavens, eyes peeled for pelippers.

"Are you daydreaming?" Flame asked. "Come on, we have to go!"

A dark shape flew by high overhead and Lucky grinned. "Hey, Perry, go hail that guy!"

Perry quickly flew up and chased the pelipper. When Lucky looked back down, Flame and Julia were looking at him in confusion.

"What're you doing?" Flame asked.

"We'll be wayyyyy too slow if we walk," Lucky said, "so I got another one of those super-duper good ideas of mine! We can ride some pelippers over instead!"

Flame perked up. "Oh, that's a good - "

"You've done this before?" Julia interrupted, voice hard. Lucky froze up. Shit, where was Perry when Lucky needed him?

"Uh, yep!" Lucky crossed his arms and grinned casually. "I do this all the time! Beats walking all the way to every dungeon, right?"

Julia wasn't quite done yet. "And how much do you pay them? I can't imagine you'd have a lotta money if you're hiring lifts all the time."

Lucky turned his gaze back up, pretending to be looking for Perry. For what it was worth, he didn't see his brother up there, anyways. Stupid good-for-nothing ditching brother. "We, uh, we come from a super rich family. Basically, we don't even need to be taking jobs, that's how rich we are."

"Bullshit."

"Wow, don't be rude, you peasant! Now I'm definitely not giving you any of my money, ever! Don't even bother asking for a loan!"

Finally, Perry reappeared in Lucky's field of view, followed by a trio of pelippers. Good god, that took way too long. The four landed in front of the group and once again Lucky was struck with revulsion. Dumb stinky pelippers. Why'd they have to be the modus operandi for this world, anyways? Why couldn't it have been swannas instead? Those would have been way nicer and also way prettier than these nasty big-billed birds. Still, a beggar couldn't be a chooser, he supposed.

"These guys have agreed to take us to Crystal Cave," Perry explained, gesturing with a wing. "The cost is seven thousand Poké each, but they can take the payment later since it's so urgent."

Julia looked them up and down, apparently deciding it was better than nothing, and shrugged. "Fine by me."

The three flightless pokémon each boarded a pelipper and Lucky had to fight horrified shivers. He didn't want to have to touch one, let alone ride it, but they had no choice. He made sure to dig his claws in a little, though.

"Scared, Lucky?" Julia asked from her pelipper, an eyebrow raised.

"N-no way!" Lucky quickly responded, wincing when his voice cracked. God dammit, keep it together, Lucky! he told himself. He couldn't fall apart over something as silly as this!

In unison, the three pelippers began beating their wings until they became lifted off and took to the skies at a slow but steady pace. Perry flew alongside Lucky's pelipper, flying in a stop-start pattern. It was hard for him to keep airborne if he didn't flap his wings as rapidly as he was capable of, so he had a hard time regulating his speed. It was either zip or hover in place at any given moment. Lucky wished the pelippers would fly a little faster to give his bro an easier time, but of course they were too lame to do something as basic as that.

Gradually, the pelippers did pick up speed and soon wind battered Lucky's face, flattening his fur and making his feelers flop against the sides of his head. Despite the less-than-optimal choice of ride, Lucky couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of freedom up here. The wind, the cool and crisp air, everything just made him feel so...so alive. This world was so alive. Despite the current grey and gloom, this world was beautiful. At times like these, Lucky felt an infinite gratitude that he could live and die in a land like this. If only he could have been born here, too.

A tiny brown blur sped down between the back of the pelipper's head and Lucky's chest and settled against the latter's fur.

"S-sorry," Perry stammered, trying to rearrange his wings into a comfortable arrangement, "it-it's r-r-really c-cold up h-here, a-and - and I didn't - "

"Shh." Lucky let go of the pelipper with one paw and stroked his brother's shivering head. Those feathers were practically frozen. Lucky hadn't even noticed the chill of the altitude. Perry pushed against Lucky's paw gratefully and tucked his head under a wing to rest.

Lucky kept his paw on Perry's back, staring straight ahead. He kept silent to let Perry sleep and allowed his mind to wander. What would he do when he met Grovyle? Would Grovyle feel the need to attack them? Would he even get the chance? And flying the pelippers over like this...was this really what they were meant to do? What would happen if they arrived ahead of Grovyle?

Thoughts like this continued to swarm Lucky's mind, drowning out the roar of the wind. He closed his eyes, visualizing all the scenarios that could take place in a matter of hours. So deep in thought was he that he didn't even notice when the pelipper he was riding came to a stop.

"You fall asleep or somethin'?"

Julia's voice roused Lucky from his daydreaming and he shook his head out. The pelippers had landed right in front of the entrance to Crystal Cave and Flame and Julia had already disembarked.

Julia jerked her head toward the cave. "C'mon, we don't got all day. Aren't you supposed to be the chipper one, anyhow?"

Ohhh, was she making a jab at him? Now that was something he couldn't abide by. Lucky hopped off his pelipper, jostling Perry awake, and skipped right up to Julia to lean in close to her.

"You want me to be chipper, huh?" he asked, mouth turning up in a wry smile. "How's this for chipper?"

Then, without waiting for an answer, he turned on his heel and zipped into the cave. He heard Julia shout, "Hey!" after him, but he didn't plan on stopping for her. It took only a few moments for Lucky's eyes to adjust to the darkness of the cave as he wound through the passages at top speed. Feral pokémon occasionally spotted him and tried to attack, but he deftly evaded the blows. Who had time to mess around with ferals, anyways?

The cave got darker as Lucky descended deeper and deeper within. Without a light source, even he was having difficulty seeing the way.

Something fired a rock blast at him from behind and he only had a split second to skirt backwards out of the way. Unfortunately, his dodge put his feet on a collision course with a cluster of exposed pointed crystals behind him and he screeched in pain, quickly dropping forward to his knees to avoid absolutely skewering his paws. Shit shit shit, that _hurt_.

The shadowy shape of a graveler appeared before him and Lucky had to roll to dodge as it punched down at him. Gritting his teeth, Lucky hopped back onto his feet and gathered a ball of energy in his paws. This pokémon wasn't worth wasting a special attack on, but he wasn't about to kick it with his feet all bloody like this.

As Lucky fired the attack, the cave briefly lit up silvery-blue, flecks of light reflecting off the crystals and spiralling across the walls. Then the blast connected with the graveler and it toppled backwards and didn't get up. The light fizzled out and the cave returned to pitch-blackness.

Lucky breathed hard through clenched teeth. That was such a stupid mistake. Now he'd have to use up an oran berry just to correct a dumb error. Suppressing a sigh, he rifled through his bag until his paw brushed the rough skin of an oran berry. He pulled it out and prepared to squeeze the juice over his feet...then changed his mind and popped it in his mouth instead. He couldn't help it, these goddamn things were too tasty to resist. Besides, it'd do the job either way. The only difference was how long it took.

After testing a step forward and finding the open wounds smarted just a little too much to be bearable, Lucky sat down with a huff to wait. It was fine, he was pretty far ahead of everyone else. There was no way they'd catch up to him -

He pricked up an ear. Voices, coming from one of the tunnels he'd entered this room from. No way, was that really them already?!

But there was nothing he could do. Trying to outrun them now would be a painful and foolish endeavour, and even Lucky wasn't that desperate. He'd only be trolling himself if he tried that. So he sat and waited as the tunnel gradually filled with orange light.

"He's in here!" Julia called a moment before she dashed into the room and skidded to a halt. She was out of breath and on all fours, a rare sight indeed. Flame and the torchlight of her blazing back were the next to enter, followed shortly by Perry. Upon spotting him, Perry immediately flew over to Lucky, looking both exasperated and worried.

"What is _wrong_ with you?!" he demanded in a high-pitched twitter. "What possessed you to run ahead without light - oh my _god_, are you bleeding?!"

Lucky put on a grin to mask his pain. "'Tis but a scratch!" he reassured Perry, who did not look reassured in the slightest. The spearow flitted about, frantically checking Lucky for further injuries. Meanwhile, Julia rose back up on her hind legs and walked over, looking unimpressed.

"You done tryna be a hotshot?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Lucky pretended to think about it.

"Mayyyyybe. Just for now, though. Don't you worry, I'm gonna go straight back to it as soon as I feel better!"

"Gods, Lucky!" Flame gasped out, leaning against a wall to catch her breath. "Can't you ditch us any slower?!"

Julia crossed her arms. "Or try _not_ ditching us at all?" she added. "I don't want this becoming a pattern."

Oh dear, she messed up. Lucky smirked at her, pleased that karma was out to get her, too. "Wow, isn't it obvious by now, Julia? It totally _is_ a pattern already. Remember Amp Plains?"

Now it was Julia's turn to falter. Her ears drooped slightly and her eyes narrowed. "Of course I do."

Lucky wondered how far he could push it. "_And_ Waterfall Cave?"

Julia looked strained, flicking her gaze over Lucky as if trying to figure out whether he was bullshitting her or not. "I, uh - "

"Cut it out, Lucky," Flame said, looking playfully reproachful. "I went on that mission way before Julia even joined!"

Ugh, stupid Flame! Why'd she have to ruin that? It could've been really funny! "But maybe she diiiiiid go before you met her!" Bracing himself against the pain, Lucky stood up to put an arm around Julia's shoulders. "We've been friends for, like, a super long time."

"No, we haven't," Julia grumbled, shoving Lucky's arm off. Lucky met her eyes and gave her a knowing look.

"Are you suuuuuuure about that?"

Silence. Julia's stare wavered but she didn't look away, engaging him in a wordless challenge. Lucky continued smiling, enjoying how uncertain she looked. She was going to crack soon. She couldn't be able to stand this much longer.

It was Perry who broke the silence with an irritable chirp. "We don't have time to mess around! Grovyle could already be there!"

Julia tore her eyes away and nodded firmly. "Right. Hey, Lucky, how badly wounded are you? Can you run or do you need to collapse dramatically?"

Now she was speaking his language. Lucky put a finger to his lips, grinning mildly. "Hmm, who knows! Maybe I'll run for now and collapse a little later down the road!"

Rolling her eyes, Julia roughly grabbed one of Lucky's legs and lifted it right up to inspect the underside of his foot. Lucky yelped and flailed his arms to try to keep his balance, but Julia was only taking a quick look and she dropped the leg almost right away.

"You'll be fine," she said bluntly. "Let's get a move on, and don't run off again, got it? You're useless to us injured."

"Wow, harsh," Lucky said.

Perry took up perch on Lucky's arm as they continued down the dungeon, this time at a more reasonable speed. The ferals slowed them down somewhat, but Flame and Julia did most of the work defeating them. It was nice to have bodyguards again and Lucky enjoyed the overall peaceful stroll through Crystal Cave.

Sooner than Lucky would have expected, they arrived at that final room with the trio of towering crystals. Flame and Julia paused, mesmerized by the sight, and Perry too stared at the crystals in awe.

"Welp, that's it!" Lucky announced, crossing his paws behind his head. "This is where me n' Fluffy n' those guild people got stuck! I guess there's nothing we can do but go back!"

Both Julia and Flame gave him a look. He held up his paws defensively.

"What? This is so obviously a dead-end! There's literally nothing we can do!"

"There's got to be _something_," Flame argued, walking up to a crystal and putting her paw on it. As she did, the crystal flashed and suddenly changed colours, startling her. "Whoa, did you see that?! It went from pink to red!"

"Wowwww, really? That sounds so coooool!" Lucky dashed up to another crystal and prodded it, changing its colour as well. He had to admit, the colour-changing gimmick was kind of fun. He kept prodding to make it go through all of its possible colours.

Julia went over to the third crystal and tried it out for herself. "You were here already, weren't you?" she asked. Though she didn't look away from the gem, Lucky knew who she was talking to. "I can't imagine you'd come all this way and _not_ try messin' around with these things."

"You got me, I totally knew they changed color," Lucky admitted. Flame sighed, putting a paw on her hip.

"Then why wouldn't you say so? This is definitely some kind of puzzle!" She touched her crystal again to change its colour to orange. "If we can figure it out, we might open the way to the Time Gear!"

"But think about all the possibilities!" Lucky said, waving an arm dramatically. "It could take us aaaaages to figure out what we're supposed to do with them!"

Relieving himself from his perch, Perry flew up and observed the three crystals from above. "There's got to be a logical answer. Let's think it through together and I'm sure we'll come up with a solution."

Lucky heard a soft gasp from the other side of the room and noticed Julia looked a little unwell. Oh, that's right, her Dimensional Scream must have gone off.

"Hey," she said weakly, "I think I know what we've gotta do."

Flame glanced over. "What's that?"

"They all need to be the same colour. Same colour as Azelf."

"What's an Azelf?" Lucky asked as he tested how quickly he could make the crystal swap colours. There seemed to be a bit of a lag, unfortunately. Looks like he wouldn't be holding any raves in here any time soon.

"I had another vision," Julia explained. She had already changed her crystal to blue and was now looking over at the other two. "Azelf - the lake guardian - looked blue in that first vision, n' the second one said the crystals had to be the same colour as him. All three need to be blue."

"Got it," Flame said, and tapped the crystal she stood at until it matched Julia's. Lucky changed his crystal as well and hopped back out of the way.

The moment all three crystals shone the same blue, the ground began to tremble. Flame and Perry had also backed up, but Julia seemed to be hesitating for whatever reason. Lost in thought, by the looks of it. What an absolutely galaxy-brained individual.

Quickly, Lucky dashed across the space between the three crystals, grabbed Julia's paw, and yanked her back across the threshold just as the ground broke behind them and a spire of deadly-sharp crystal rose up from the ground. The two landed in a messy heap and looked back at the rising mess of crystals. There appeared to be a hole at the bottom of the structure that lead downwards into a pitch-black tunnel, and once the spire had reached its peak, the gap was large enough for a tall pokémon to walk through.

Julia disentangled herself from Lucky and shook herself off like she'd been dunked in water. Lucky got up as well, brushing yellow hairs off his fur. Did she shed on him? Gross.

"Th-that was incredible," Flame managed, though she sounded a little less enthused than someone who had just seen an entire mound of crystals break through the ground in front of them should be. She was regarding Julia and Lucky with a vaguely worried expression. Oh, geez, did she think just because Lucky had saved Julia that there was some kind of romance blossoming here? That was absolutely not how romance worked. Lucky had to suppress the strong urge to school her on the ways of proper shipping.

"Yeah, no kiddin'," Julia mumbled, straightening her bandana. She shot a glance at Lucky, looking as distrustful as usual. But then her expression changed, melting into something more like curiosity. "Hey, thanks, bud," she said. "Who'd a thought something like that'd just pop outta the ground?"

"Not you, obviously!" he teased, poking her nose. "I totally just saved your life, y'know. You're indebted to me forever and ever!"

Julia didn't give a snappy retort to that like Lucky had expected, or even just some dismissive remark. Instead, she gave a slow nod.

"Guess I am."

That was kind of weird of her, but Lucky could work with that. "Wowwww, are you really that eager to be my life servant 'til you die? Because I totally wouldn't mind, but I bet you'd have a reeeeeal bad time!"

"_Lucky_," Perry said warningly, hopping up to his side and giving him a reproachful look. Lucky stuck his tongue out at him, but he knew Perry was right. Who knew how much time they'd have before Grovyle showed up?

"Alright, geez! We're going!" Lucky crossed his arms. "I was just messing around!"

"We, uh, probably don't have time for that right now," Flame said, now looking even more withdrawn. God, was teasing a crime now? That wasn't even remotely close to flirting. Lucky wanted to let Flame know in a very blunt manner that no, he wasn't encroaching on Flame's girl, but he remembered what Perry told him earlier about trying to force romance. He'd ruin things for sure if he said something like that.

Julia nodded and retied her bandana to be a little tighter. "We'd better head down there," she said, nodding to the entrance in the crystal spire. "I get the feeling we're close to the Time Gear now."

"Race you there!" Lucky yelled, dashing into the tunnel. Before he could get too far, something yanked roughly on his tail and unbalanced him. He landed on his butt, whimpering from the smarting pain in his tail. So _that's_ why nobody liked having their tails tugged. He understood now.

"Hold your fuckin' horses, bud," Julia snapped, back to her regular coarse self. "You want me to put a fuckin' leash on ya? 'Cuz I'll do it if you try n' pull this shit again."

Lucky looked up at her, allowing his watery eyes to aid his pitiable expression. "Awwww, you wouldn't be such a meanie, would you?"

Julia wasn't having it. "Don't test me," she deadpanned.

"So boring." Lucky got back to his paws and blinked back the tears. "Fiiiiiine, I guess I'll _walk_ like the rest of you slow boring people."

"Good," Julia said, taking up the lead. Flame followed close behind, shooting a nervous glance back at Lucky. Pouting, Lucky trotted along behind them. Perry flitted around his head, looking disapproving.

"Seriously, Lucky," he quietly chirped, "do you even have a plan here? I'm starting to think you have no idea what you're doing!"

Lucky clasped his paws behind his back, smiling faintly. "Oh, I know _exactly_ what I'm doing, don'tcha worry bro." He didn't elaborate further, as usual, and Perry gave a frustrated sigh.

"I hope so," he muttered, then flew a little ways ahead to fly alongside Flame and Julia.

The tunnels down here were lighter, softly illuminated by the glowing crystals that lined the walls. Of course, Flame also lit up the caverns with her flaming back, but it was hardly necessary. It drew feral pokémon to them like a beacon, too, though odds were they'd encounter the same ferals regardless. And now that Lucky's feet had sufficiently healed, he could return to kicking the absolute shit out of anything that crossed their paths. It was only once he jump-kicked a floatzel in the face and scored a one-hit knockout that Julia and Flame stopped to stare at him.

Lucky blinked at them, one leg still raised. "What?"

"You're…" Flame began, brows furrowing. "...really, really strong."

"Well, duh, of course I'm strong!" Lucky said, putting his paws on his hips. "Because my family's super duper rich, I got a ton of lessons to toughen me up! That's what you get when you're, like, a bajillionaire!"

Beside Julia, Perry covered his face with a wing.

"But - but you're so young!" Flame protested. "There's no way you'd be able to get that strong just from lessons!"

Julia remained silent but she seemed to be deep in thought. Lucky was also deep in thought, trying to figure out how the hell to carry this lie.

"Okay, it's not juuuuuust from lessons," he said, drawing out each word to buy him a little extra time to think. "I also take a lot of protein drinks! Every day I have, like, ten of each kind!"

It was extremely obvious no one was buying that. Well, if he was going to lie blatantly, why bother making it believable now?

"Okay, that's actually not the real truth." Lucky winked at them. "I drink the blood of my enemies."

Flame's mouth was set in a frown. "Lucky, that's not even - "

"Don't bother." Julia put a paw on Flame's shoulder and shook her head. "He's just going to keep kidding around. I don't think that's important right now."

Reluctantly, Flame nodded. "You're right, let's forget about it for now."

The four went back to walking through the cave, though there was now a feeling of tension between Flame and Lucky. Was she jealous or something? It was clear that Flame was plenty strong on her own. So was she just trying to call Lucky out? So, _so _lame. What fun is there in ruining the mystery? She should let some secrets go unspilled.

The level of light began to increase as they went along and the overall pace picked up some. Julia's ears were pinned forward, almost looking like a dowsing rod. Fittingly, when they emerged from the caverns, the four found themselves facing a massive lake edged by glimmering crystals. Hanging from the ceiling in place of stalactites were even more crystals. This was just altogether way too many crystals. It was starting to get ridiculous.

"Whoa," Flame said, staring out at the lake. "This must be Crystal Cave's lake! The Time Gear's gotta be nearby!"

"If the Time Gear had already been taken," Julia said, "this place would've looked all greyed-out. Look, I'm pretty sure that's it out there."

She pointed out to the middle of the lake, where something glowed green just beneath the water's surface. Lucky felt his heartbeat in his throat at the very sight of it. There was no doubt about it, that was the Time Gear. Not that there was ever any doubt it'd still be here when they arrived, anyways.

"Hey, what's that?"

Flame's voice pulled Lucky's attention away from the Time Gear and he turned to look where she was pointing. A good ways down the shoreline extended a land bridge that reached halfway to the centre of the lake, and two faint figures stood at the end of it - one blue, and one green.

"That's Grovyle!" Julia exclaimed, eyes going wide. "Did he pass us in - ?" She shook her head and gestured to the others with an arm. "C'mon!"

She dropped to all fours and sprinted towards the bridge with Flame, Perry, and Lucky in hot pursuit. The latter quickly overtook Julia and grinned as he raced forward. What would happen if he interrupted the scene Julia's Dimensional Scream had shown her? Would her vision retroactively change? Or would Lucky break the timeline? The anticipation made his heart race faster than it had from seeing the Time Gear. Grovyle was already in his sight, less than thirty yards away. Any second now, he'd -

Lucky's foot caught on a crystal that he hadn't noticed growing up from the ground beneath him and he was suddenly falling on a collision course with a cluster of gems. He'd be absolutely speared if he didn't do something. In the split-second before painful impact, Lucky twisted his body in the air, redirecting his path just enough to spare him from the crystals. However, by doing so, he had no chance to shield himself from the rock-solid ground.

Lucky's head collided with the ground, pain radiated through his skull, and spots briefly danced across his vision before everything went black.

* * *

**Damn, these chapters just don't know when to stop, do they? I'll have to do a better job of cutting them off. Speaking of length, Chapter 21 is partway done now and yes, it's just as huge as I thought it would be. I'm planning on uploading it in two parts to make it easier on you guys. Seriously, it's twice the length of this chapter. I'll try to get it out as soon as I can, but I'm expecting it to take about a month or so. Sit tight and wait for it, it's gonna be a wild one. ****I'm not going to let this story fail.**


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